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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  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. wax — in the ear
  2. season — in sport
  3. track — a path
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. season — of the year
  6. track — a song
  7. ball — a great time
  8. key — for a lock
  9. field — farmland
  10. ball — a dance
  11. wax — to grow
  12. track — to keep track
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. key — the most important part
  15. field — for sport
  16. key — in music
  17. bound — obliged
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bound — tied together
  21. board — to get on
  22. bound — certain
  23. board — a committee
  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