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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  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. field — a subject
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wax — to grow
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. field — for sport
  10. wake — a trail
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. shower — rain
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. track — a path
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — farmland
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. hide — animal skin
  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