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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 · season · fall · court · calf · spring · pop · leaves

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. spring — of water
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. court — for sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. court — of a king
  7. fall — to drop
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fall — to drop
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pop — to visit
  15. fall — the season
  16. season — of the year
  17. spring — a coil
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. season — in sport
  21. pop — music
  22. spring — the season
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. court — of law

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