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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kid — child
  3. wax — to grow
  4. chip — for betting
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. race — the arms race
  8. pass — a permit
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. chip — to eat
  15. race — humankind
  16. field — for sport
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. race — a contest
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. field — a subject
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. kid — to tease

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