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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: land · chest · field · wax · swing · jam · object · track

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. track — to keep track
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. land — a country
  6. wax — to grow
  7. swing — in golf
  8. field — for sport
  9. object — to protest
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. field — farmland
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. land — to come down
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. object — an aim
  18. track — a song
  19. land — ground
  20. track — a path
  21. object — a thing
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. field — a subject

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