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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: lash · degree · field · drill · wax · land · bear · rash

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — hasty
  3. field — a subject
  4. drill — the tool
  5. field — farmland
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bear — the animal
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. land — ground
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. bear — the animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. field — for sport
  20. wax — to grow
  21. land — a country
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. land — to come down

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