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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: field · land · hand · wax · suit · object · roll · foot

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. roll — a cake
  3. suit — to fit
  4. object — to protest
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. suit — clothes
  8. suit — in cards
  9. object — an aim
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. field — farmland
  13. roll — a list
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. hand — help
  19. land — a country
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. object — a thing

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