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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: stick · spell · plane · wax · shower · ball · track · field

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. spell — letters
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. plane — a tool
  6. field — farmland
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. field — for sport
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. ball — a great time
  13. track — a song
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. field — a subject
  21. spell — magic
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. shower — rain
  24. wax — for sculpting

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