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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. field — a subject
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. game — a match
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. field — for sport
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cell — in biology
  12. roll — a cake
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — a skill
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a list
  19. craft — boats
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. field — farmland
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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