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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · object · cell · game · lie · key · prune · band

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cell — a phone
  7. object — an aim
  8. key — for a lock
  9. game — wild animals
  10. band — a music group
  11. key — in music
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. game — a match
  14. band — a ring
  15. object — a thing
  16. cell — in biology
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — a subject
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. lie — to recline
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. object — to protest
  24. field — farmland

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