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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · plane · ground · bat · shower · wax · kid · track

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. track — a song
  3. track — a path
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wax — to grow
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. kid — child
  21. plane — a tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. ground — a position
  24. track — to keep track

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