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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: cabinet · wax · season · ball · jam · band · roll · field

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. season — of the year
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. field — a subject
  6. season — in sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. band — a ring
  24. field — for sport

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