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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. field — for sport
  4. craft — a skill
  5. drill — the tool
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. field — a subject
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. drill — army training
  18. craft — boats
  19. capital — money
  20. content — the amount
  21. rock — a stone
  22. field — farmland
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rock — to move gently

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