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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: prune · suit · cold · wax · wave · field · stick · squash

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. prune — to trim
  3. field — a subject
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — farmland
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. suit — in cards
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — an illness
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. suit — clothes
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wax — to grow
  23. suit — to fit
  24. field — for sport

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