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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. net — in sport
  3. file — a tool
  4. wake — a trail
  5. club — a group
  6. field — for sport
  7. wax — to grow
  8. club — for golf
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. club — for dancing
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. net — after costs
  14. field — farmland
  15. spring — a coil
  16. file — a document
  17. spring — of water
  18. net — for catching
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. spring — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — a subject

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