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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: bay · race · game · wax · last · present · track · field

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. last — final
  3. track — a path
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. last — finally
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — a match
  8. track — a song
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. race — a contest
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. present — a gift
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wax — to grow
  15. last — to go on
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. field — farmland
  18. track — to keep track
  19. race — the arms race
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. field — a subject
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. race — humankind
  24. present — the time now

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