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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 116 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — for catching
  7. tear — to rip
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. net — in sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. field — a subject
  15. tear — from crying
  16. field — for sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. net — after costs
  19. season — of the year
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. key — in music
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wax — to grow
  24. club — for golf

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