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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. key — for a lock
  4. field — for sport
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — an injury
  8. field — farmland
  9. net — in sport
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. stock — shares
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wound — an injury
  17. key — the most important part
  18. field — a subject
  19. stock — goods
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wax — to grow
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. key — in music

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