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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spell · trunk · stock · fork · prune · patient · craft · rule

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rule — a law
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stock — goods
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. spell — a short time
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. fork — in a road
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. stock — shares
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rule — government
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. prune — to trim
  23. craft — a skill
  24. fork — to eat with

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