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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: wax · snap · track · foot · net · fork · court · band

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. track — a path
  4. snap — to click
  5. court — of law
  6. track — a song
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. court — for sport
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. foot — a measure
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. band — a ring
  17. court — of a king
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fork — in a road
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. wax — to grow

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