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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: staff · field · spring · cold · ground · wax · chip · pit

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chip — to eat
  3. field — for sport
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ground — the earth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. staff — employees
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spring — the season
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cold — not warm
  20. field — a subject
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pit — a hole
  23. staff — employees
  24. ground — a position

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