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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. firm — steady
  3. field — farmland
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wind — moving air
  6. firm — decided
  7. field — for sport
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bulb — for light
  10. row — to paddle
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. firm — a company
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. row — a line
  23. field — a subject
  24. wind — moving air

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