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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: prune · face · field · nail · cue · date · spell · shower

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — to confront
  3. spell — magic
  4. date — the fruit
  5. face — part of the head
  6. cue — for pool
  7. shower — to wash
  8. field — for sport
  9. cue — a hint
  10. spell — a short time
  11. face — to point toward
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cue — a signal
  15. spell — letters
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. field — a subject
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. shower — rain
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. nail — on a finger

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