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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. face — to confront
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. firm — a company
  8. spring — the season
  9. face — part of the head
  10. spring — of water
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — of ice
  13. field — for sport
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cap — a hat
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mine — for digging
  18. field — farmland
  19. firm — decided
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. face — to point toward
  24. firm — steady

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