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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: wax · prune · clip · object · net · pitch · field · wound

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — a subject
  3. clip — for paper
  4. wound — an injury
  5. object — an aim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. net — in sport
  8. wax — to grow
  9. net — for catching
  10. clip — a video
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. object — a thing
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. field — farmland
  15. object — to protest
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitch — completely
  22. clip — to cut
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. field — for sport

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