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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. band — a ring
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. club — a group
  8. rash — a series
  9. dip — to sink
  10. hand — help
  11. rash — hasty
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — a subject
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. fine — high quality
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. band — a music group
  18. fine — all right
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. field — farmland
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — for golf
  24. wax — to grow

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