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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wax — to grow
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mug — a face
  6. cue — for pool
  7. field — for sport
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. season — in sport
  12. track — a song
  13. season — of the year
  14. field — a subject
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. hand — in cards
  17. track — a path
  18. field — farmland
  19. track — to keep track
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. hand — help
  24. mug — a cup

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