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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. field — farmland
  3. cold — an illness
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. drill — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. press — newspapers
  9. wax — to grow
  10. field — for sport
  11. drill — army training
  12. last — to go on
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. shower — rain
  18. press — a publisher
  19. shower — to wash
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. last — finally
  23. drill — a practice
  24. last — final

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