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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: cap · fan · field · game · dip · rest · rock · prune

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — for sport
  4. rock — music
  5. game — wild animals
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — a match
  8. cap — of ice
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cap — a hat
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. dip — to sink
  17. field — farmland
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. rest — a break
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rock — a stone
  24. fan — a supporter

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