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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. key — the most important part
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — to tease
  6. wax — to grow
  7. field — for sport
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. fine — all right
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. field — farmland
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. key — in music
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — clever
  23. fine — high quality
  24. coach — a trainer

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