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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.

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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 · perch · snap · drill · band · wax · prune

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. root — of a plant
  7. field — farmland
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. root — of a word
  10. wax — to grow
  11. band — a music group
  12. drill — a practice
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. drill — the tool
  15. root — the cause
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — army training
  18. field — a subject
  19. snap — to click
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. field — for sport
  24. band — a ring

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