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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. root — of a plant
  3. prune — to trim
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. spring — of water
  6. scale — in music
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spring — the season
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — a coil
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. court — for sport
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. root — of a word
  17. branch — a division
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. court — of law
  22. root — the cause
  23. scale — size or range
  24. fan — a supporter

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