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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: fan · pop · field · rock · staff · prune · march · deal

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. rock — music
  2. field — farmland
  3. march — music
  4. pop — to visit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. deal — to handle
  8. pop — music
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. pop — soda
  11. march — the month
  12. rock — a stone
  13. field — for sport
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — a subject
  16. march — the month
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. staff — a stick
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. staff — employees
  23. deal — an agreement
  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