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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 116 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. face — to point toward
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. face — to confront
  15. wax — to grow
  16. last — final
  17. perch — the fish
  18. last — finally
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. last — to go on
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. face — part of the head
  24. field — farmland

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