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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: prune · fan · mark · object · degree · field · mine · row

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. object — an aim
  4. mark — a grade
  5. object — to protest
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. row — to paddle
  8. field — farmland
  9. object — a thing
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. field — a subject
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. degree — temperature
  17. prune — to trim
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. field — for sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. row — a line

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