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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. deal — to handle
  6. rash — a series
  7. last — to go on
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. last — finally
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. field — for sport
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. last — final
  18. field — a subject
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. field — farmland
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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