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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. wax — to grow
  3. plane — a tool
  4. fine — all right
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. spring — the season
  7. fine — high quality
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. mate — to breed
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. field — for sport
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. field — farmland
  15. spring — a coil
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. spring — of water
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mark — a trace
  22. foot — a measure
  23. field — a subject
  24. wax — for sculpting

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