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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 116 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: plane · field · wax · march · chair · pop · net · trunk

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — after costs
  9. chair — a leader
  10. plane — a tool
  11. net — in sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. pop — music
  14. field — for sport
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. net — for catching
  19. march — the month
  20. pop — soda
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pop — to visit

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