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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: pop · wax · wake · field · race · pass · wound · nail

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — a subject
  3. wax — to grow
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. field — for sport
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. pop — to visit
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pop — soda
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pop — music
  15. pass — a permit
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. field — farmland
  18. race — humankind
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. race — a contest

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