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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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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 · pound · club · field · capital · wave · mark · file

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mark — a grade
  4. prune — to trim
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — a group
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. field — farmland
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. file — a document
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. capital — a city
  15. field — a subject
  16. file — a line of people
  17. club — for golf
  18. pound — a weight
  19. file — a tool
  20. capital — money
  21. field — for sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mark — a trace
  24. capital — a big letter

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