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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — to go on
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. last — finally
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. ball — a dance
  11. field — a subject
  12. lean — thin
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cold — not warm
  15. field — for sport
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fork — in a road
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. ball — a great time
  22. last — final
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cold — an illness

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