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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: squash · wax · land · object · snap · arm · field · bank

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wax — to grow
  3. field — farmland
  4. land — a country
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. land — to come down
  7. object — a thing
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. squash — to crush
  10. object — an aim
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. snap — to click
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. land — ground
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bank — of a river
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — for sport
  21. object — to protest
  22. bank — for money
  23. field — a subject
  24. bank — for money

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