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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
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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: rest · clip · wax · track · staff · last · cell · field

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. last — finally
  3. rest — what's left
  4. field — a subject
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rest — what's left
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wax — to grow
  13. track — a path
  14. rest — a break
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. last — final
  20. staff — employees
  21. track — a song
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. last — to go on
  24. wax — for sculpting

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