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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: bulb · prune · race · capital · fork · sharp · present · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. prune — to trim
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. present — a gift
  6. capital — a city
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. present — the time now
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. race — a contest
  15. present — there
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bulb — for light
  18. race — humankind
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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