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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · prune · kick · field · ground · fork · pop · leaves

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. pop — music
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. field — farmland
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. ground — the earth
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. kick — in football
  18. field — for sport
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. pop — soda
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pop — to visit

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