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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. land — ground
  4. field — farmland
  5. cap — a lid
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. field — for sport
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — bread
  11. prune — to trim
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. land — a country
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. cap — of ice
  18. field — a subject
  19. board — to get on
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — for betting
  23. land — to come down
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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