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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. field — for sport
  4. key — for a lock
  5. field — a subject
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. march — the month
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. last — final
  11. march — the month
  12. field — farmland
  13. pitch — completely
  14. row — to paddle
  15. last — finally
  16. mate — a friend
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mate — to breed
  19. key — in music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. wax — to grow
  22. key — the most important part
  23. last — to go on
  24. march — music

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