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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 116 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: wax · ball · race · scale · mine · club · field · bore

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. field — a subject
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bore — to drill
  5. club — for golf
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. club — a group
  10. field — for sport
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. field — farmland
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bore — to tire
  16. race — humankind
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. scale — size or range
  19. ball — a great time
  20. race — a contest
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. scale — in music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mine — for digging

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