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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cap — a lid
  4. court — of law
  5. bound — certain
  6. bat — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — for sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. cue — a signal
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — a hint
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bound — tied together
  21. mark — a trace
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mark — a grade

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