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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bound · rash · cell · pound · hand · field · pit · wax

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rash — a series
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pound — a weight
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rash — hasty
  13. pit — a hole
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. field — for sport
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pit — in a race
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bound — obliged

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