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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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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: bear · prune · kick · chest · field · bowl · firm · bat

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bear — the animal
  5. firm — a company
  6. kick — in football
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. prune — to trim
  11. firm — steady
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. firm — decided
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chest — of your body
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. prune — to trim
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bowl — a football final

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