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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: game · ground · field · track · straw · wax · mug · arm

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. field — for sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. field — farmland
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mug — a face
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mug — to rob
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ground — a position
  13. track — a song
  14. field — a subject
  15. track — a path
  16. wax — to grow
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. game — a match
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. track — to keep track
  24. straw — a straw man

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