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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
468
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: track · wax · bat · game · bear · tear · march · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. track — to keep track
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bear — the animal
  5. track — a song
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. track — a path
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — to rip
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. bear — the animal
  18. club — a group
  19. wax — to grow
  20. club — for dancing
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. game — a match
  24. wax — in the ear

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