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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 120 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: ruler · mine · pop · prune · field · saw · sharp · mark

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mark — a grade
  3. saw — the tool
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mine — for digging
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pop — soda
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. field — for sport
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. pop — music
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. field — farmland
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. saw — the tool
  22. field — a subject
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. prune — to trim

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