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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cell — in biology
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. current — electric
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. current — of water
  10. field — a subject
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ground — a position
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. mate — a partner
  16. field — farmland
  17. ground — the earth
  18. field — for sport
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wax — to grow
  24. current — happening now

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