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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. spell — magic
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. court — of law
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. board — a committee
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. spell — letters
  13. board — to get on
  14. spell — a short time
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. ball — a dance
  17. court — for sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. prune — to trim
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. court — of a king

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