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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. last — finally
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. field — farmland
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. field — for sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. field — a subject
  20. branch — a division
  21. wax — to grow
  22. kid — child
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wake — before a funeral

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