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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: prune · net · court · rule · present · stock

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. 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. rule — a law
  2. stock — shares
  3. court — of law
  4. net — in sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. net — for catching
  7. present — a gift
  8. stock — goods
  9. present — the time now
  10. rule — government
  11. court — for sport
  12. present — there
  13. net — after costs
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. court — of a king
  18. 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