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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. drill — army training
  3. kid — to tease
  4. field — for sport
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. drill — a practice
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — child
  21. plane — a tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. plane — an aircraft

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