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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. drill — army training
  4. pop — to visit
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. field — a subject
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. pop — soda
  9. field — farmland
  10. pop — music
  11. drill — the tool
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. content — happy
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. drill — a practice
  20. key — in music
  21. season — of the year
  22. key — the most important part
  23. content — the amount
  24. field — for sport

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