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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 120 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: land · spell · pop · bulb · court · prune · kick · key

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. court — of law
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spell — letters
  6. pop — to visit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kick — in football
  9. key — in music
  10. land — ground
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — for sport
  13. spell — magic
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. key — the most important part
  16. bulb — for light
  17. key — for a lock
  18. land — to come down
  19. spell — a short time
  20. land — a country
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. pop — music
  23. bulb — for light
  24. court — of a king

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