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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · rush · field · bowl · prune · pound · wave · spell

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. spell — letters
  3. field — for sport
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. rush — hurry
  11. pound — a weight
  12. prune — to trim
  13. field — farmland
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spell — magic
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pound — to hit hard

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