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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · saw · field · mine · game · tube · racket · stand

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  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. game — a kind of play
  2. saw — the tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. field — a subject
  6. stand — to bear
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — a match
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. saw — the tool
  12. tube — a container
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. tube — the underground
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. prune — to trim
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tube — in a tire
  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