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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 116 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: bass · field · prune · cold · bay · wax · mate · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. field — for sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bass — low music
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. field — farmland
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. field — a subject
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mate — to breed
  21. swing — to play on
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mate — a partner
  24. wax — for sculpting

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