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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 120 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: file · stock · field · court · wax · press · bank · wound

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. court — of law
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. field — a subject
  9. press — to push
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. stock — goods
  13. press — newspapers
  14. court — of a king
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stock — shares
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. file — a document
  21. bank — of a river
  22. court — for sport
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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