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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: court · fork · chest · prune · fall · staff · mug · date

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chest — of your body
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. court — of law
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mug — a face
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. staff — employees
  10. court — of a king
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — to rob
  13. staff — a stick
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. court — for sport
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fork — in a road
  22. date — the fruit
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chest — a box

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