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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: trunk · rush · tear · field · pass · wax · firm · court

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rush — hurry
  5. field — farmland
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. firm — steady
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. court — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. field — for sport
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. court — of law
  22. firm — decided
  23. court — of a king
  24. trunk — of a car

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