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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: bound · prune · straw · racket · field · drill · wake · court

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wake — a trail
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bound — obliged
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. drill — army training
  10. court — of a king
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. court — of law
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bound — tied together
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bound — certain
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. court — for sport
  24. prune — to trim

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