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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: chest · drill · mate · cold · field · prune · bulb · pass

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pass — a permit
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bulb — for light
  6. field — a subject
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. prune — to trim
  10. drill — army training
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. drill — the tool
  14. mate — a partner
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bulb — for light
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. field — farmland
  22. mate — a friend
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chest — of your body

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