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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: land · spell · field · prune · mate · squash · rest · suit

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. mate — to breed
  2. suit — to fit
  3. mate — a partner
  4. field — a subject
  5. land — ground
  6. spell — magic
  7. suit — clothes
  8. spell — a short time
  9. land — a country
  10. rest — what's left
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rest — what's left
  13. prune — to trim
  14. squash — the sport
  15. rest — a break
  16. land — to come down
  17. squash — to crush
  18. suit — in cards
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. spell — letters
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mate — a friend
  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