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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. court — of law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. board — a committee
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. fork — in a road
  13. sharp — clever
  14. board — to get on
  15. squash — to crush
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. tear — to rip
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. fork — a garden tool

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