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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 · bound · last · bark · squash · nail · press · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — a publisher
  5. prune — to trim
  6. field — a subject
  7. last — to go on
  8. bark — to shout
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — tied together
  14. squash — the sport
  15. last — finally
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. field — farmland
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bound — certain
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. last — final
  24. nail — for a hammer

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