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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: safe · spring · court · wound · prune · firm · trunk · land

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. 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. firm — steady
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. court — of law
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — decided
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. court — of a king
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — a country
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. spring — a coil
  15. land — to come down
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. court — for sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. land — ground
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. spring — the season
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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