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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: calf · stock · field · scale · track · hand · club · wax

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. field — for sport
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. club — for golf
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stock — shares
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. track — a path
  9. wax — to grow
  10. track — to keep track
  11. club — for dancing
  12. stock — goods
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. scale — size or range
  16. field — farmland
  17. track — a song
  18. club — a group
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. hand — help
  22. field — a subject
  23. hand — in cards
  24. calf — a young animal

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