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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: wake · field · hand · vault · wave · bark · wax · track

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. track — to keep track
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. track — a path
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wax — to grow
  15. hand — help
  16. wake — a trail
  17. track — a song
  18. field — farmland
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. vault — a safe
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. wax — in the ear

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