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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 116 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: ground · fan · plane · field · prune · board · bat · fork

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. field — for sport
  4. ground — the earth
  5. field — a subject
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bat — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. ground — crushed
  20. board — a committee
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. ground — a position

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