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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. field — farmland
  3. face — to point toward
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. field — a subject
  6. cold — not warm
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wax — to grow
  9. face — part of the head
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — a cup
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. field — for sport
  21. face — to confront
  22. vault — a safe
  23. branch — a division
  24. mug — to rob

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