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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chair — a leader
  6. field — farmland
  7. spring — the season
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. spring — a coil
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. club — a group
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. field — for sport
  22. spring — of water
  23. bear — the animal
  24. field — a subject

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