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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · track · wax · bat · cabinet · foot · rash · chest

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. row — to paddle
  3. wax — to grow
  4. foot — a measure
  5. track — a path
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. chest — a box
  8. bat — the animal
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. track — a song
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. row — a line
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — of your body

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