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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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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: prune · court · leaves · wind · branch · toast · patient · bowl

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. court — of a king
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. court — for sport
  19. branch — a division
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. court — of law
  24. toast — bread

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