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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 120 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 · pop · firm · rash · straw · hand · field · ball

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. firm — steady
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pop — music
  11. firm — a company
  12. field — for sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. hand — help
  15. firm — decided
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. ball — a great time
  18. rash — a series
  19. wax — to grow
  20. ball — a dance
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. hand — in cards
  24. rash — on the skin

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