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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: club · stock · field · prune · mine · swing · mug · fan

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. swing — music
  3. field — a subject
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mug — a face
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mug — to rob
  8. swing — to play on
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mug — a cup
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. field — farmland
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. club — for golf
  23. field — for sport
  24. fan — a supporter

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