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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. court — of a king
  3. firm — a company
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bound — certain
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ball — a great time
  11. spell — letters
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — for sport
  14. firm — decided
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. firm — steady
  21. court — of law
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  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