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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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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. field — for sport
  7. cell — a phone
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cell — in biology
  10. lie — to recline
  11. board — a committee
  12. club — for golf
  13. rock — a stone
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. club — a group
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. club — for dancing
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. board — to get on
  21. rock — music
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rock — to move gently

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