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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: net · clip · court · leaves · field · wax · foot · rash

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. rash — hasty
  3. net — after costs
  4. rash — a series
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. net — in sport
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. foot — a measure
  14. field — farmland
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of law
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. clip — a video
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. wax — to grow

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