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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: field · ruler · wave · fall · club · fan · prune · cold

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. field — farmland
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. field — for sport
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. fall — the season
  14. field — a subject
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. fall — to drop
  22. club — a group
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. cold — not warm

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