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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 · plane · tear · hide · present · prune · arm · deal

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — of a king
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — to trim
  9. plane — a tool
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. present — a gift
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. tear — to rip
  14. present — the time now
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. present — there
  21. deal — to handle
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. court — of law
  24. arm — a part of something

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