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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. fall — to drop
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. file — a document
  11. craft — a skill
  12. file — a line of people
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. perch — the fish
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. swing — in golf
  18. field — farmland
  19. craft — boats
  20. swing — to play on
  21. file — a tool
  22. swing — music
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. perch — for a bird

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