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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · pop · straw · lash · field · racket · band · wax

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pop — soda
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — for sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pop — music
  14. degree — an amount
  15. band — a music group
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wax — to grow
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — a subject
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. lash — to lash out

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