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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. track — a song
  3. present — the time now
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. field — farmland
  6. staff — a stick
  7. track — a path
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. face — part of the head
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. present — a gift
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. track — to keep track
  17. staff — employees
  18. scale — in music
  19. staff — employees
  20. present — there
  21. scale — size or range
  22. face — to confront
  23. field — for sport
  24. wax — to grow

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