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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: race · bore · court · wind · prune · roll · land · stand

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a cake
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wind — moving air
  7. court — of law
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. prune — to trim
  10. race — a contest
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. court — of a king
  15. roll — a list
  16. land — to come down
  17. bore — to tire
  18. land — a country
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bore — to drill
  22. stand — to bear
  23. land — ground
  24. court — for sport

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