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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wax — to grow
  3. field — for sport
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cell — a phone
  13. band — a ring
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. field — a subject
  16. cue — for pool
  17. band — a music group
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — a hint
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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