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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wax — to grow
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. field — for sport
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. field — a subject
  12. plane — a tool
  13. season — of the year
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. swing — music
  18. stock — shares
  19. swing — to play on
  20. squash — to crush
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. season — in sport
  23. swing — in golf
  24. season — to add flavour

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