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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: bay · pound · wind · firm · wax · prune · field · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. field — for sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. land — to come down
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. firm — a company
  11. field — a subject
  12. firm — steady
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. firm — decided
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pound — a weight
  24. field — farmland

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