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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: mate · trunk · mine · racket · field · prune · sharp · fan

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. mate — a partner
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mine — for digging
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. field — for sport
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. prune — to trim
  16. field — farmland
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. field — a subject
  20. mate — to breed
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mate — a friend
  24. trunk — of a car

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