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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: pop · field · fork · bore · prune · rule · net · march

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. field — farmland
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rule — a law
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. prune — to trim
  8. net — for catching
  9. pop — music
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. net — after costs
  16. field — for sport
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. net — in sport
  19. pop — to visit
  20. field — a subject
  21. bore — to drill
  22. pop — soda
  23. bore — to tire
  24. march — music

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