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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. file — a tool
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. field — farmland
  6. ball — a great time
  7. shower — rain
  8. wax — to grow
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. ball — a dance
  14. file — a line of people
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. file — a document
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. shower — to wash
  24. rash — on the skin

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