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

Word bank: toast · band · prune · field · mate · rule · scale · kid

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. kid — child
  3. band — a music group
  4. scale — size or range
  5. field — a subject
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rule — a law
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rule — government
  11. mate — to breed
  12. field — farmland
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. scale — in music
  17. band — a ring
  18. toast — bread
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mate — a partner
  22. prune — to trim
  23. toast — the most admired
  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