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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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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: court · prune · saw · toast · fork · tear · pit · land

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. land — a country
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. fork — in a road
  5. court — for sport
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — to come down
  9. prune — to trim
  10. land — ground
  11. toast — bread
  12. pit — a hole
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. tear — to rip
  16. prune — to trim
  17. saw — the tool
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pit — in a race
  21. saw — the tool
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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