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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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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: bowl · land · wind · band · mark · prune · racket · pass

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. mark — a trace
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. band — a ring
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wind — moving air
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — a permit
  17. band — a music group
  18. prune — to trim
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. land — to come down
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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