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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: ground · content · field · row · hand · jam · prune · wax

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — to paddle
  5. hand — help
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. ground — the earth
  9. content — happy
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wax — to grow
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. field — a subject
  15. ground — a position
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. row — a line
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. prune — to trim
  22. ground — crushed
  23. field — for sport
  24. wax — for sculpting

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