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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: last · club · wax · bore · mine · field · rash · pitcher

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — final
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — a series
  5. field — for sport
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bore — to tire
  12. last — finally
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. last — to go on
  16. field — a subject
  17. rash — hasty
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. club — a group
  21. mine — for digging
  22. field — farmland
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bore — to drill

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