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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 · face · land · ball · foot · field · band · firm

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. ball — a dance
  5. band — a ring
  6. firm — steady
  7. field — farmland
  8. firm — decided
  9. land — to come down
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. land — a country
  13. prune — to trim
  14. land — ground
  15. firm — a company
  16. face — to confront
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. ball — a great time

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