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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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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: racket · kid · stand · chip · field · trunk · date · wax

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kid — child
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wax — to grow
  6. field — a subject
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. date — the fruit
  12. kid — to tease
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. chip — for betting
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chip — to eat
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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