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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 120 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: tube · bat · field · cell · pop · wax · bound · mark

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mark — a grade
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. tube — a container
  9. bound — obliged
  10. field — farmland
  11. bound — tied together
  12. field — for sport
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pop — music
  16. bound — certain
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. field — a subject
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pop — to visit
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pop — soda
  24. bat — in an idiom

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