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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 · pop · tube · snap · pound · staff · mate · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to click
  4. pop — soda
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pop — to visit
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mate — to breed
  12. pound — a weight
  13. mate — a partner
  14. staff — employees
  15. pop — music
  16. prune — to trim
  17. staff — a stick
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. field — a subject
  20. mate — a friend
  21. tube — a container
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. staff — employees
  24. field — for sport

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