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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bore — to drill
  3. fine — all right
  4. lean — thin
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lean — to bend
  7. race — humankind
  8. field — a subject
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. field — for sport
  20. bore — to tire
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. field — farmland
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bore — gave birth

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