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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cell — in biology
  3. club — for dancing
  4. field — a subject
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cell — a phone
  8. club — for golf
  9. pound — a weight
  10. club — a group
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. deal — to handle
  13. field — for sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cap — of ice
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. field — farmland
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cap — a hat
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. pound — to hit hard

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