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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. field — farmland
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a lid
  5. spell — a short time
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. spell — magic
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wax — to grow
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cell — a phone

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