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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: bowl · game · bat · field · snap · calf · prune · stand

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. game — wild animals
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. game — a match
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. field — a subject
  21. snap — to click
  22. field — for sport
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. calf — a young animal

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