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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: hide · wax · lash · spell · court · field · race · pit

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. race — a contest
  5. court — for sport
  6. spell — letters
  7. pit — a hole
  8. race — humankind
  9. wax — to grow
  10. court — of law
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — farmland
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. spell — magic
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. field — for sport
  19. spell — a short time
  20. pit — in a race
  21. field — a subject
  22. court — of a king
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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