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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 116 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: field · race · mine · bear · bat · prune · bass · nail

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. field — a subject
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bear — the animal
  7. mine — for digging
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — farmland
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bat — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. bear — the animal
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bass — low music
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — for sport
  24. bat — for baseball

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