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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: prune · fan · field · wake · cell · roll · mate · bulb

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. roll — a list
  3. bulb — for light
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. roll — a cake
  8. mate — a friend
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. mate — a partner
  12. cell — a phone
  13. field — a subject
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — for sport
  19. mate — to breed
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. field — farmland

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