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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: wax · present · field · prune · trunk · hide · game · kid

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. present — the time now
  2. game — wild animals
  3. present — a gift
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. present — there
  7. kid — to tease
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. field — farmland
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. kid — child
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — a match
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — for sport
  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