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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. field — farmland
  4. row — to paddle
  5. field — for sport
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. hand — in cards
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. field — a subject
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — help
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stock — goods
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. snap — to click
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. deal — to handle
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wax — for sculpting

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