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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cell — a phone
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cell — in biology
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. field — a subject
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — to rob
  13. deal — to handle
  14. mug — a face
  15. dip — to sink
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. mate — a friend

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