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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: plane · pop · hand · bat · wound · suit · wax · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. suit — clothes
  3. track — a song
  4. plane — a tool
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wound — an injury
  11. suit — to fit
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. pop — soda
  20. hand — in cards
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. hand — help
  23. track — a path
  24. bat — for baseball

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