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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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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 · field · file · bay · prune · bear · fall · arm

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. field — farmland
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. field — a subject
  5. mate — a partner
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. file — a line of people
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. fall — to drop
  14. field — for sport
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. prune — to trim
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. file — a tool
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. file — a document
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fall — the season
  24. prune — the fruit

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