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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: season · present · mine · prune · bound · squash · field · roll

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. present — the time now
  3. roll — a list
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. present — a gift
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bound — obliged
  11. present — there
  12. prune — to trim
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. prune — to trim
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. season — in sport
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. field — a subject
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bound — tied together
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bound — certain
  24. roll — a cake

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