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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. band — a ring
  7. wax — to grow
  8. court — of law
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. court — of a king
  16. plane — a tool
  17. court — for sport
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. band — a music group
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. field — a subject
  24. plane — an aircraft

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