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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: bulb · fine · wax · cold · squash · club · track · field

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cold — not warm
  4. club — for dancing
  5. track — a song
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fine — all right
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. track — a path
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bulb — for light
  15. squash — the sport
  16. club — a group
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. field — for sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. fine — high quality
  22. club — for golf
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cold — the Cold War

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