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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: field · nail · roll · prune · hand · shower · wake · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. hand — in cards
  3. roll — a list
  4. wake — a trail
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. ground — the earth
  8. shower — rain
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. ground — crushed
  18. prune — to trim
  19. field — for sport
  20. hand — help
  21. shower — to wash
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. roll — a cake
  24. nail — for a hammer

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