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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: band · prune · field · plane · wax · race · court · press

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. field — a subject
  4. press — a publisher
  5. race — a contest
  6. prune — to trim
  7. field — farmland
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. band — a ring
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. race — the arms race
  14. field — for sport
  15. prune — to trim
  16. race — humankind
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. press — to push
  19. plane — a tool
  20. court — of law
  21. court — for sport
  22. press — newspapers
  23. court — of a king
  24. wax — to grow

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