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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wake · prune · sharp · wound · last · field · racket · fork

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. field — a subject
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. field — farmland
  13. last — finally
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wound — an injury
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — for sport
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. last — final
  22. prune — to trim
  23. sharp — clever
  24. fork — in a road

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