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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: rash · wax · mark · staff · track · game · lean · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. track — a song
  4. lean — to bend
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. field — farmland
  8. wax — to grow
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. field — for sport
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mark — a trace
  17. lean — thin
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. staff — employees
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. mark — a grade
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — a stick

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