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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. branch — a division
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. cell — a phone
  7. field — a subject
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — in music
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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