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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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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. key — in music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. shower — rain
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. court — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. kick — in football
  18. key — for a lock
  19. shower — to wash
  20. court — of a king
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. last — to go on
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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