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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 120 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 · prune · bat · bass · net · rule · field · pop

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. pop — soda
  3. rule — a law
  4. field — a subject
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. pop — to visit
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. field — farmland
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — after costs
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rule — government
  17. pop — music
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bass — low music
  20. field — for sport
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bat — the animal
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

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