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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: date · bowl · patient · court · perch · drill · root · prune

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. date — the fruit
  3. court — of law
  4. drill — a practice
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. court — for sport
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. drill — army training
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. drill — the tool
  22. root — the cause
  23. perch — the fish
  24. court — of a king

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