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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. swing — music
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — humankind
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — an aim
  9. net — for catching
  10. field — a subject
  11. wax — to grow
  12. swing — in golf
  13. field — farmland
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. object — a thing
  18. net — in sport
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. race — a contest
  21. net — after costs
  22. race — the arms race
  23. swing — to play on
  24. mouse — for a computer

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