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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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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: present · wax · pitch · fork · cap · kid · field · prune

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cap — a lid
  3. wax — to grow
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fork — in a road
  8. kid — child
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cap — a hat
  13. pitch — completely
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. present — the time now
  16. field — farmland
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. field — for sport
  19. present — a gift
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — to tease
  22. field — a subject
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cap — of ice

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