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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: bay · hide · prune · fork · court · field · rash · wake

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. field — for sport
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. prune — to trim
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. court — of law
  13. rash — hasty
  14. wake — a trail
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. court — of a king
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rash — a series

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