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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: bass · firm · mark · saw · wind · prune · kid · field

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — farmland
  5. mark — a grade
  6. field — a subject
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. prune — to trim
  9. firm — steady
  10. wind — moving air
  11. mark — a trace
  12. firm — a company
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bass — the fish
  19. firm — decided
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. kid — child
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bass — low music

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