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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. face — to point toward
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. field — a subject
  6. face — part of the head
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. net — in sport
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. capital — a city
  13. face — to confront
  14. capital — money
  15. craft — boats
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bank — for money
  23. field — for sport
  24. capital — a big letter

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