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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wound — an injury
  7. drill — army training
  8. rash — a series
  9. field — farmland
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. drill — the tool
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bat — the animal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. tube — a container
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. tube — the underground
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — an injury

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