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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 120 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 · land · fine · fan · prune · tube · bass · pitch

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — completely
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. bass — low music
  6. fine — all right
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. tube — the underground
  9. land — a country
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tube — a container
  12. land — to come down
  13. field — for sport
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fine — high quality
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bass — the fish
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — ground
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. fan — to cool the air

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