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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 · mate · ball · present · board · prune · last · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. last — to go on
  3. field — farmland
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. field — a subject
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. mate — a partner
  12. present — the time now
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ball — a dance
  16. present — a gift
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a committee
  20. prune — to trim
  21. ball — a great time
  22. field — for sport
  23. game — a match
  24. present — there

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