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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: rule · prune · wake · mug · fall · wound · straw · field

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. field — for sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fall — to drop
  7. mug — a face
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wake — a trail
  10. field — a subject
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mug — to rob
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — government
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mug — a cup
  19. wound — an injury
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. field — farmland

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