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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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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. rule — government
  3. field — for sport
  4. ball — a dance
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. rule — a law
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. pound — a weight
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bat — for baseball

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