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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 · court · rule · field · season · saw · pit · deal

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. court — of a king
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. rule — a law
  6. court — of law
  7. saw — the tool
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. season — in sport
  11. court — for sport
  12. field — for sport
  13. deal — to handle
  14. rule — government
  15. season — of the year
  16. pit — a hole
  17. field — farmland
  18. pit — in a race
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — a subject
  24. deal — an agreement

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