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

Word bank: court · fall · fork · row · charge · pass · date · prune

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pass — a permit
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. fall — the season
  7. fork — in a road
  8. charge — in control
  9. charge — electricity
  10. court — for sport
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. date — the fruit
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. court — of a king
  17. fall — to drop
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. row — a line
  23. court — of law
  24. 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