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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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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: bound · mate · ball · prune · land · racket · bark · field

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bound — certain
  4. mate — a friend
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. bound — tied together
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bark — to shout
  15. field — a subject
  16. prune — to trim
  17. field — farmland
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. land — to come down
  21. field — for sport
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mate — to breed
  24. racket — a loud noise

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