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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: court · drill · net · swing · bay · field · spell · wax

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. drill — army training
  3. field — a subject
  4. spell — letters
  5. drill — the tool
  6. wax — to grow
  7. court — of a king
  8. net — after costs
  9. swing — music
  10. field — farmland
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. spell — a short time
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. court — for sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. field — for sport
  23. spell — magic
  24. court — of law

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