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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. season — in sport
  6. band — a music group
  7. court — of law
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. land — a country
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. season — of the year
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. court — for sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. land — to come down
  19. prune — to trim
  20. band — a ring
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — ground
  23. court — of a king
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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