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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: field · key · prune · rock · cabinet · rule · bat · spring

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. key — in music
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. rule — a law
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. field — farmland
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rock — a stone
  12. field — a subject
  13. rock — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — for sport
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bat — the animal
  24. prune — the fruit

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