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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: game · rash · wax · club · field · pit · march · track

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. game — a match
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. club — for golf
  8. rash — a series
  9. rash — hasty
  10. track — to keep track
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — the month
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. pit — in a race
  17. track — a path
  18. club — a group
  19. field — for sport
  20. track — a song
  21. march — music
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pit — a hole
  24. march — the month

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