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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 116 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: mine · fan · prune · hide · race · field · wax · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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 — farmland
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. race — humankind
  6. wax — to grow
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. band — a ring
  12. field — for sport
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — for digging
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. field — a subject
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — to cool the air

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