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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — to go on
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. shower — to wash
  8. mug — a face
  9. mug — a cup
  10. face — to point toward
  11. mug — to rob
  12. wax — to grow
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. field — farmland
  15. face — to confront
  16. shower — rain
  17. content — the amount
  18. face — part of the head
  19. content — happy
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. field — for sport
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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