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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: fan · field · last · tube · present · wax · bass · race

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. field — for sport
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. last — finally
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. tube — the underground
  11. race — a contest
  12. present — there
  13. wax — to grow
  14. tube — a container
  15. bass — the fish
  16. race — the arms race
  17. field — a subject
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — final
  20. field — farmland
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. present — the time now
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. last — to go on

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