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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · bay · bark · kick · bat · fine · wax · field

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. field — a subject
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. field — for sport
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. kick — in football
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. fine — all right
  18. bat — the animal
  19. fine — high quality
  20. wax — to grow
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. field — farmland

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