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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: perch · band · field · ball · drill · wax · dip · stock

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ball — a great time
  7. drill — army training
  8. field — farmland
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. field — a subject
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. band — a music group
  14. stock — goods
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. band — a ring
  18. stock — shares
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — for sport
  21. dip — to sink
  22. perch — the fish
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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