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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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hand — help
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. field — for sport
  7. can — to be able to
  8. wax — to grow
  9. field — farmland
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. scale — in music
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. field — a subject
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. can — a tin
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. vault — a safe
  20. hand — in cards
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. scale — size or range
  24. can — a tin

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