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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — for sport
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. current — of water
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — a subject
  10. root — the cause
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rush — hurry
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. current — happening now
  16. shower — rain
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. current — electric
  19. wax — to grow
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. shower — to wash
  22. root — of a plant
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. root — of a word

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com