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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. fall — the season
  5. land — to come down
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fine — high quality
  8. field — farmland
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. land — a country
  11. field — for sport
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. row — a line
  14. land — ground
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wax — to grow
  18. fall — to drop
  19. deal — to handle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fine — all right
  22. fall — to drop
  23. row — to paddle
  24. field — a subject

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