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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 120 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: root · rule · field · bore · prune · bowl · season · hand

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. season — of the year
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — in cards
  6. season — in sport
  7. bore — to drill
  8. field — farmland
  9. rule — a law
  10. field — a subject
  11. bore — to tire
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. hand — help
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rule — government
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. root — of a plant
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. field — for sport
  24. rule — to rule out

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