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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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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: field · prune · court · safe · tear · spring · mark · season

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. court — of a king
  6. prune — to trim
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mark — a trace
  10. field — a subject
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. prune — to trim
  14. spring — the season
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. mark — a grade
  17. tear — to rip
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. spring — a coil
  20. season — of the year
  21. spring — of water
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. tear — from crying
  24. season — in sport

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