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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. hand — help
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. field — for sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. field — farmland
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. date — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. fan — to cool the air

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