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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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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 · fall · saw · club · snap · prune · ground · chip

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — farmland
  4. club — for dancing
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. prune — to trim
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chip — for betting
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — a subject
  18. chip — to eat
  19. saw — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. field — for sport

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