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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. prune — to trim
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. key — for a lock
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — to trim
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — in music
  10. court — of law
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. court — of a king
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pound — for dogs

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