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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: pit · track · wax · field · chest · race · trunk · file

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chest — a box
  3. track — a path
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pit — a hole
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. file — a line of people
  10. track — a song
  11. field — farmland
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. field — for sport
  14. file — a tool
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. race — humankind
  17. file — a document
  18. race — the arms race
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. race — a contest
  21. field — a subject
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — in a race
  24. track — to keep track

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