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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. field — for sport
  3. cell — in biology
  4. spell — letters
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. drill — a practice
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pass — a permit
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. prune — to trim
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. drill — the tool
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. drill — army training
  20. spell — magic
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. perch — the fish

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