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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 120 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. last — finally
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. field — for sport
  6. capital — a city
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. field — farmland
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — a subject
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. last — final
  15. capital — money
  16. wax — to grow
  17. vault — a safe
  18. last — to go on
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — a strongbox

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