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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wax — to grow
  3. kid — child
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bass — the fish
  6. board — to get on
  7. kick — in football
  8. board — a committee
  9. field — a subject
  10. bass — low music
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. field — for sport
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kid — to tease
  18. field — farmland
  19. rash — a series
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. season — of the year
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wax — in the ear

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