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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · ground · bass · pound · prune · field · patient · race

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. field — for sport
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — the arms race
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. ground — a position
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bass — the fish
  16. ground — the earth
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spell — a short time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. field — farmland
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bass — low music

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