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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 · tear · mark · last · court · prune

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. last — final
  5. court — of law
  6. mark — a trace
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mark — a grade
  9. tear — from crying
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — the most important part
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. last — to go on
  16. prune — to trim
  17. key — in music
  18. mark — to pay attention

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