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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: field · prune · hand · rock · ground · lean · racket · bat

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  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. hand — in cards
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rock — a stone
  4. field — farmland
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rock — music
  7. ground — the earth
  8. field — for sport
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. prune — to trim
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ground — crushed
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bat — the animal
  19. field — a subject
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. hand — help
  22. ground — a position
  23. rock — to move gently
  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