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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mate — to breed
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. field — farmland
  10. stand — to bear
  11. lean — to bend
  12. mate — a friend
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fork — in a road
  19. spring — of water
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. field — a subject
  23. spring — the season
  24. field — for sport

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