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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. charge — a price
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rock — a stone
  10. kid — child
  11. wax — to grow
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rock — music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. charge — in control
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wake — a trail
  19. charge — electricity
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. field — farmland
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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