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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 sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. file — a document
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. lie — to recline
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. root — of a plant
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. file — a line of people
  17. kid — to tease
  18. root — of a word
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a tool
  21. root — the cause
  22. field — farmland
  23. wax — to grow
  24. kid — child

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