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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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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: cabinet · prune · bowl · court · pitcher · fan · field · bore

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bore — to drill
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — of a king
  8. prune — to trim
  9. court — for sport
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. field — for sport
  14. bore — to tire
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — a subject
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. court — of law

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