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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 · board · field · sharp · shower · cold · cap · staff

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cap — a hat
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. staff — a stick
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — to get on
  15. field — a subject
  16. cold — an illness
  17. shower — rain
  18. sharp — clever
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. shower — to wash
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cap — of ice
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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