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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: field · stem · pop · mug · fork · court · press · wax

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pop — music
  4. mug — a cup
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. court — for sport
  8. pop — soda
  9. wax — to grow
  10. field — a subject
  11. press — to push
  12. field — farmland
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. field — for sport
  15. mug — a face
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. stem — to come from
  20. pop — to visit
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. mug — to rob
  24. press — newspapers

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