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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 116 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: cap · fork · branch · court · prune · spring · nail · wind

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cap — of ice
  3. spring — the season
  4. fork — in a road
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. prune — to trim
  8. branch — a division
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. court — of law
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. wind — moving air
  21. court — for sport
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — of water

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