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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 120 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: pitcher · prune · bulb · safe · board · squash · land · field

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. field — farmland
  5. squash — the sport
  6. board — a committee
  7. bulb — for light
  8. land — to come down
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. land — a country
  13. board — to get on
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. land — ground
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — a subject
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bulb — for light
  23. squash — to crush
  24. field — for sport

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