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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: chair · clip · tube · hand · net · field · wax · pass

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. hand — in cards
  4. field — for sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. field — farmland
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — a video
  16. tube — a container
  17. pass — a permit
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chair — a leader
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. hand — help
  23. wax — to grow
  24. tube — the underground

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