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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. march — the month
  3. field — for sport
  4. plane — a tool
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. fork — in a road
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. file — a tool
  9. row — a line
  10. march — music
  11. bulb — for light
  12. file — a line of people
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. march — the month
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. field — farmland
  18. wax — to grow
  19. file — a document
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. plane — an aircraft

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