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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: deal · prune · land · ball · band · plane · content · ground

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. ball — a dance
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. ground — the earth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. content — happy
  14. band — a music group
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ground — crushed
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — the amount
  19. deal — to handle
  20. ground — a position
  21. band — a ring
  22. plane — a tool
  23. land — ground
  24. plane — in geometry

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