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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: prune · court · last · rock · bore · bat · sharp · firm

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. firm — decided
  3. court — of law
  4. bat — the animal
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bore — to drill
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rock — music
  12. court — for sport
  13. last — finally
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. prune — to trim
  16. firm — steady
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rock — a stone
  22. last — to go on
  23. firm — a company
  24. bat — for baseball

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