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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: field · key · sharp · wind · tube · game · prune · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. tube — a container
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — clever
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. key — in music
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. field — for sport
  10. game — a match
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. key — for a lock
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wind — moving air
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. game — wild animals
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mine — for digging
  20. key — the most important part
  21. field — a subject
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. field — farmland
  24. sharp — exactly

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