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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 · field · saw · pop · race · coach · face · bound

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. prune — to trim
  3. saw — the tool
  4. race — the arms race
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — to point toward
  7. field — a subject
  8. race — a contest
  9. pop — music
  10. race — humankind
  11. pop — soda
  12. bound — certain
  13. face — part of the head
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. field — for sport
  17. face — to confront
  18. bound — obliged
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. field — farmland
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pop — to visit

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