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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: bass · prune · pound · mate · wake · fork · rush · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. land — ground
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mate — a friend
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pound — a weight
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — a country
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. bass — the instrument

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