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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. field — farmland
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. root — of a word
  4. field — a subject
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. mine — for digging
  8. root — the cause
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. ball — a great time
  11. wax — to grow
  12. root — of a plant
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stand — for spectators
  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