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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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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: mark · last · saw · prune · wound · wax · bank · field

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. field — a subject
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mark — a trace
  7. field — for sport
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. last — to go on
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. last — final
  15. field — farmland
  16. wax — to grow
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mark — a grade
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bank — for money
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. last — finally
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wound — an injury

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