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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. perch — the fish
  3. saw — the tool
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. net — after costs
  6. present — there
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. present — a gift
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. net — in sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. band — a ring
  14. present — the time now
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wax — to grow
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — a subject
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. net — for catching

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