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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: mate · field · bound · prune · pound · game · land · fall

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pound — a weight
  3. fall — the season
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. land — to come down
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. field — for sport
  12. bound — certain
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — farmland
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bound — obliged
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mate — a friend
  19. field — a subject
  20. fall — to drop
  21. game — a match
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mate — to breed
  24. game — wild animals

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