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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bear — the animal
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chip — for betting
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chip — to eat
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — farmland
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bear — the animal
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. chip — in a computer

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