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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. court — of law
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. game — a match
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. game — wild animals
  9. court — of a king
  10. wound — an injury
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. fine — all right
  14. court — for sport
  15. last — finally
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fork — in a road
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. last — to go on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. last — final
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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