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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wax — to grow
  8. degree — temperature
  9. press — newspapers
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. press — a publisher
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bulb — for light
  17. field — farmland
  18. degree — an amount
  19. press — to push
  20. field — a subject
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. clip — a video
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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