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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: field · ground · band · bass · prune · firm · current · cell

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — farmland
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. firm — steady
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. firm — decided
  8. band — a music group
  9. ground — a position
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. bass — low music
  13. firm — a company
  14. ground — the earth
  15. field — for sport
  16. bass — the fish
  17. current — electric
  18. field — a subject
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cell — a phone
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cell — in a prison

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