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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: wax · stock · spell · field · swing · snap · tube · pop

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. pop — music
  3. snap — to click
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. pop — to visit
  9. swing — to play on
  10. spell — magic
  11. stock — goods
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. wax — to grow
  15. swing — music
  16. spell — a short time
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stock — shares
  20. swing — in golf
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. spell — letters
  23. pop — soda
  24. stock — a soup base

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