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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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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: club · fork · wake · wind · prune · patient · mark · court

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. mark — a trace
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. club — for golf
  10. wake — a trail
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — moving air
  13. club — a group
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. mark — a grade
  17. fork — in a road
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. court — of a king
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. club — for dancing

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