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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. degree — an amount
  3. field — a subject
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. field — farmland
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. degree — from a university
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wax — to grow
  14. field — for sport
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rest — a break
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wake — a trail

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