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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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. scale — size or range
  4. land — to come down
  5. object — an aim
  6. land — ground
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. land — a country
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bound — certain
  11. object — a thing
  12. present — a gift
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. present — the time now
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. scale — in music
  17. field — for sport
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. present — there
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. wax — to grow
  23. object — to protest
  24. pitch — completely

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