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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. field — farmland
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. field — a subject
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. field — for sport
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — a box
  23. bear — the animal
  24. toast — bread

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