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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: squash · wax · field · band · game · dip · degree · wound

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. game — a match
  6. degree — temperature
  7. field — farmland
  8. wound — an injury
  9. degree — from a university
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a music group
  14. dip — to sink
  15. field — for sport
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. squash — to crush
  19. degree — an amount
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. squash — the sport
  23. field — a subject
  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