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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: object · racket · pop · content · wax · field · swing · fan

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pop — to visit
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — a subject
  6. object — a thing
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. field — farmland
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. object — an aim
  11. pop — music
  12. content — happy
  13. swing — in golf
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pop — soda
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. object — to protest
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. field — for sport

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