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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wake — a trail
  4. tube — a container
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. hand — help
  7. field — farmland
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. squash — the sport
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. squash — to crush
  13. rash — hasty
  14. field — for sport
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. track — a path
  17. rash — a series
  18. wax — to grow
  19. tube — the underground
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. field — a subject
  24. track — a song

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