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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 116 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: net · fan · prune · mate · stick · field · coach · stock

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mate — a friend
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. net — for catching
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. field — a subject
  8. mate — to breed
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mate — a partner
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stock — shares
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. field — farmland
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stock — goods
  21. field — for sport
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. fan — to cool the air

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