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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. date — the fruit
  7. pitch — completely
  8. plane — a tool
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. fall — the season
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. field — a subject
  13. wake — a trail
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. field — farmland
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fall — to drop
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. wax — to grow
  20. deal — to handle
  21. fall — to drop
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. field — for sport
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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