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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 · board · bound · stick · tear · march · land · field

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. land — ground
  5. wax — to grow
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bound — obliged
  9. land — to come down
  10. field — a subject
  11. board — a committee
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. bound — certain
  18. field — for sport
  19. march — the month
  20. land — a country
  21. field — farmland
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — music

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