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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. season — of the year
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. court — of a king
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wind — moving air
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wind — moving air
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wake — a trail
  17. prune — to trim
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. season — in sport
  21. court — for sport
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. court — of law
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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