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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 116 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. field — a subject
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — newspapers
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bulb — for light
  7. field — for sport
  8. pitch — completely
  9. field — farmland
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. bulb — for light
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. content — happy
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. press — to push
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. press — a publisher
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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