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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: game · mouse · club · field · kick · coach · sharp · wax

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. field — farmland
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. club — a group
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. game — a match
  15. wax — to grow
  16. club — for golf
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. kick — in football
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mouse — the animal

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