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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 120 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
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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: spell · field · mug · prune · capital · band · wax · content

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a music group
  5. spell — a short time
  6. field — farmland
  7. capital — money
  8. band — a ring
  9. spell — letters
  10. capital — a city
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a face
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — for sport
  16. content — the amount
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — happy
  19. spell — magic
  20. mug — a cup
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. field — a subject
  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