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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. present — there
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. present — the time now
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. field — a subject
  17. saw — the tool
  18. last — final
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. present — a gift
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pitcher — a jug

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