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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. last — final
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cue — a hint
  5. wake — a trail
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. field — for sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. court — for sport
  13. last — finally
  14. field — farmland
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cue — a signal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. court — of law
  20. court — of a king
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cue — for pool
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. prune — to trim

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