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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: land · bark · wax · cue · band · spring · prune · press

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. press — a publisher
  3. cue — for pool
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cue — a signal
  7. press — to push
  8. press — newspapers
  9. land — to come down
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bark — to shout
  12. land — ground
  13. wax — to grow
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spring — a coil
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. land — a country
  20. spring — of water
  21. band — a music group
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cue — a hint
  24. spring — the season

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