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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: chest · court · present · prune · kid · root · fork · fan

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — of your body
  6. present — a gift
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. prune — to trim
  11. root — of a word
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — in a road
  14. kid — child
  15. present — the time now
  16. court — of law
  17. chest — of your body
  18. present — there
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. root — the cause
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. root — of a plant
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. kid — to tease

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