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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 ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. wax — to grow
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. craft — a skill
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. cold — not warm
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. rest — a break
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. field — farmland
  19. craft — boats
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. field — for sport
  24. plane — a tool

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