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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 · land · spell · prune · wake · sharp · pit · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pit — in a race
  3. field — for sport
  4. wake — a trail
  5. spell — magic
  6. land — to come down
  7. field — farmland
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. land — a country
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — a subject
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. pit — a hole
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. land — ground
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. prune — to trim

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