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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · prune · hand · key · branch · tear · court · bark

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bark — to shout
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. file — a document
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. court — of a king
  12. hand — help
  13. tear — from crying
  14. file — a tool
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. tear — to rip
  18. key — the most important part
  19. tear — from crying
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. file — a line of people
  22. branch — a division
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bark — of a tree

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