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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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. last — finally
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bank — for money
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cap — a lid
  10. fork — in a road
  11. last — to go on
  12. bank — of a river
  13. prune — to trim
  14. snap — to click
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cap — of ice
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. pop — soda
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. last — final
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bank — for money
  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