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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: pitcher · mate · pass · field · prune · plane · board · land

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. plane — a tool
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. mate — to breed
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mate — a partner
  7. land — to come down
  8. land — ground
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. mate — a friend
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pass — a permit
  15. field — for sport
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — a subject
  19. board — a committee
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. field — farmland
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. land — a country
  24. prune — to trim

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