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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: ball · pit · game · face · field · cell · prune · pop

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. face — to point toward
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. field — farmland
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. ball — a great time
  9. pop — music
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. ball — a dance
  14. pop — to visit
  15. field — a subject
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — for sport
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pop — soda
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pit — a hole

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