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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: capital · prune · bowl · field · hand · swing · bore · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. swing — music
  4. field — a subject
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pop — to visit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. pop — soda
  13. swing — in golf
  14. capital — money
  15. swing — to play on
  16. field — for sport
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. field — farmland
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. hand — help

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