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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. field — farmland
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. field — a subject
  9. land — ground
  10. spring — of water
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wax — to grow
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. spring — a coil
  17. field — for sport
  18. spring — the season
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. bat — for baseball

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