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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · game · net · prune · spell · leaves

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. prune — to trim
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. spell — letters
  5. game — a match
  6. key — for a lock
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. key — in music
  9. spell — a short time
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. net — for catching
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. spell — magic
  14. key — the most important part
  15. net — in sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. net — after costs
  18. leaves — lets stay

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