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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: root · field · wax · jam · prune · bulb · bound · tear

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — for light
  4. field — for sport
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wax — to grow
  7. root — of a plant
  8. prune — to trim
  9. field — farmland
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a word
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bound — obliged
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bound — certain
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. field — a subject
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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