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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: row · chair · tear · fan · trunk · bound · prune · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. row — a line
  4. bound — certain
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chair — a leader
  10. field — for sport
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. row — to paddle
  21. field — farmland
  22. bound — obliged
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bound — tied together

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