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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: field · rule · track · prune · wind · sharp · kid · mark

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. field — farmland
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. kid — child
  8. prune — to trim
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. kid — to tease
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — government
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. sharp — clever
  18. field — for sport
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. field — a subject
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. track — a path
  23. mark — a grade
  24. sharp — with an edge

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