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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bore — to drill
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spring — of water
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. prune — to trim
  11. swing — music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. spring — the season
  18. court — of a king
  19. swing — to play on
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. court — of law
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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