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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 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. game — a match
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bank — of a river
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. court — for sport
  8. file — a document
  9. court — of a king
  10. kick — in football
  11. pop — music
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pop — soda
  14. bank — for money
  15. file — a line of people
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wax — to grow
  18. file — a tool
  19. pop — to visit
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bank — for money
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. game — wild animals
  24. prune — to trim

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