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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: bat · current · leaves · mine · chair · field · prune · mark

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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 — farmland
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mine — for digging
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. current — happening now
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. mark — a trace
  14. mark — a grade
  15. current — electric
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. field — a subject
  20. prune — to trim
  21. current — of water
  22. field — for sport
  23. prune — to trim
  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