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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. current — happening now
  3. cap — a lid
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. field — for sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. row — a line
  10. spring — a coil
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. cap — of ice
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cap — a hat
  18. field — a subject
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. row — to paddle
  21. field — farmland
  22. wax — to grow
  23. spring — the season
  24. pitcher — a jug

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