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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 116 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: pitcher · prune · saw · rule · tube · field · shower · land

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. land — a country
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. land — ground
  8. rule — government
  9. tube — the underground
  10. field — for sport
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. land — to come down
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. field — a subject
  16. rule — a law
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. saw — the tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tube — a container
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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