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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 116 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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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: band · court · prune · field · present · pound · pit · lash

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. present — a gift
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. present — the time now
  10. pit — a hole
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. court — of law
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. band — a ring
  15. pit — in a race
  16. band — a music group
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pound — a weight
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. present — there
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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