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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: bore · prune · present · fall · wound · field · roll · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. bore — to tire
  3. prune — to trim
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. wound — an injury
  7. present — the time now
  8. fall — to drop
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. fall — the season
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. present — a gift
  16. bore — to drill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. field — for sport
  19. can — to be able to
  20. wound — an injury
  21. present — there
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. can — a tin
  24. roll — a list

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