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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — of law
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wax — to grow
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. band — a music group
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pound — a weight
  14. band — a ring
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — a box
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. field — for sport

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