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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: cabinet · ball · field · suit · wax · pop · mate · tear

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. ball — a great time
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tear — to rip
  6. ball — a dance
  7. pop — music
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — a partner
  10. field — a subject
  11. pop — to visit
  12. suit — to fit
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — clothes
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. pop — soda
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. tear — from crying

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