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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. field — for sport
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — farmland
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. lie — to recline
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. scale — in music
  23. rush — hurry
  24. lie — an untruth

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