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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: nail · rest · wax · saw · pitcher · rash · wake · field

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rash — a series
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. saw — the tool
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. field — a subject
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — farmland
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. field — for sport

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