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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: bark · trunk · degree · game · court · object · present · prune

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. present — a gift
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. prune — to trim
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. game — a match
  7. court — of a king
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — there
  10. object — to protest
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. game — wild animals
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. court — of law
  17. prune — to trim
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. object — an aim
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. object — a thing
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — of a tree

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