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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 120 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: prune · wind · press · court · board · bat · ball · root

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. ball — a great time
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. court — for sport
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — the cause
  7. wind — moving air
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. press — a publisher
  11. prune — to trim
  12. court — of law
  13. prune — to trim
  14. press — to push
  15. court — of a king
  16. press — newspapers
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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