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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. prune — to trim
  3. root — of a plant
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fine — high quality
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. court — of law
  9. fine — all right
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. prune — to trim
  12. march — music
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. court — of a king
  15. march — the month
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. root — of a word
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. root — the cause
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fork — in a road

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