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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. court — of law
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spell — letters
  6. court — of a king
  7. spell — a short time
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ball — a great time
  10. root — of a word
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — for sport
  15. drill — army training
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. branch — a division
  18. drill — a practice
  19. root — the cause
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. root — of a plant
  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