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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 116 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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. field — farmland
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mug — a face
  7. fall — to drop
  8. band — a music group
  9. last — to go on
  10. squash — the sport
  11. field — for sport
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mug — to rob
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. field — a subject
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. band — a ring
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. fall — the season

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