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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. rush — hurry
  3. row — a line
  4. swing — to play on
  5. field — for sport
  6. wax — to grow
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. field — farmland
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tube — a container
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. swing — in golf
  14. field — a subject
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. swing — music
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. row — to paddle
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. tube — in a tire

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