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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: chip · kid · field · swing · wax · toast · key · arm

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. key — in music
  2. field — farmland
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. key — the most important part
  6. kid — child
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. key — for a lock
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. swing — in golf
  16. wax — to grow
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. chip — to eat
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. toast — bread
  21. field — a subject
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. chip — for betting
  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