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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: bass · fan · wax · land · jam · field · wake · root

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. root — of a word
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. bass — the fish
  10. root — of a plant
  11. land — ground
  12. root — the cause
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bass — low music
  18. land — to come down
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. land — a country
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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