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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. prune — to trim
  3. field — for sport
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wax — to grow
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. field — a subject
  13. bulb — for light
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rash — a series
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. degree — temperature
  19. rash — hasty
  20. file — a tool
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bulb — for light
  23. file — a document
  24. degree — from a university

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