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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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. march — the month
  7. pop — soda
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. pop — music
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. court — for sport
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. present — the time now
  18. court — of a king
  19. bore — to drill
  20. court — of law
  21. bore — to tire
  22. pop — to visit
  23. fork — in a road
  24. prune — to trim

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