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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
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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: field · prune · march · mate · track · rule · bass · tear

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bass — low music
  3. track — a song
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. track — to keep track
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — a subject
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. tear — from crying
  11. field — farmland
  12. track — a path
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bass — the fish
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mate — to breed
  19. field — for sport
  20. march — music
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. march — the month
  23. rule — a law
  24. march — the month

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