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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. prune — to trim
  3. court — for sport
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. prune — to trim
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to drill
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. spell — letters
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. net — in sport
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. court — of a king
  18. net — after costs
  19. bore — to tire
  20. net — for catching
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — a short time
  23. branch — a division
  24. spell — magic

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