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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: fork · stock · can · court · spell · prune · band · patient

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. spell — a short time
  4. band — a ring
  5. court — of a king
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — for sport
  11. stock — shares
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stock — goods
  15. court — of law
  16. spell — letters
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. can — to be able to
  19. spell — magic
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. can — a tin
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. can — a tin
  24. fork — in a road

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