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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · field · row · mine · plane · wax · net · chair

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chair — a leader
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. mine — for digging
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. net — after costs
  10. tube — the underground
  11. plane — a tool
  12. net — for catching
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. tube — a container
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. row — a line
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. field — farmland
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. net — in sport
  23. row — to paddle
  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