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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. prune — to trim
  3. court — of a king
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. court — for sport
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. court — of law
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. spell — letters
  15. wind — moving air
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spell — magic
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. prune — to trim
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bark — to shout
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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