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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fan · cold · nail · prune · field · club

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. field — farmland
  7. club — for golf
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. club — for dancing
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. field — for sport
  12. club — a group
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. field — a subject

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