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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: last · field · key · rule · wax · mine · branch · prune

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wax — to grow
  6. branch — a division
  7. prune — to trim
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. rule — government
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. last — final
  14. rule — a law
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. key — in music
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. key — the most important part
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. field — farmland
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. key — for a lock

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