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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cold — not warm
  5. last — to go on
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. rest — what's left
  8. field — a subject
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. field — farmland
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. field — for sport
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. last — finally
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rest — a break
  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