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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.

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: wax · spell · field · swing · degree · clip · rest · pitch

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. clip — a video
  3. swing — to play on
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. degree — temperature
  8. clip — to cut
  9. spell — a short time
  10. swing — music
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. field — a subject
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. spell — letters
  19. swing — in golf
  20. spell — magic
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rest — a break
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rest — what's left

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