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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 120 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: club · stock · fall · degree · prune · field · plane · face

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. club — a group
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. degree — temperature
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. stock — goods
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fall — to drop
  11. club — for golf
  12. stock — shares
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fall — the season
  15. degree — from a university
  16. club — for dancing
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fall — to drop
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. face — to confront
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. face — to point toward
  24. plane — a tool

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