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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: prune · field · foot · chip · rush · object · land · spring

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. land — to come down
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — for betting
  8. object — to protest
  9. land — ground
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. spring — a coil
  12. field — a subject
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. object — an aim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. object — a thing
  17. rush — hurry
  18. foot — a measure
  19. land — a country
  20. spring — of water
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. field — farmland
  23. spring — the season
  24. prune — the fruit

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