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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 · club · cold · saw · firm · court · wave · tube

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. saw — the tool
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. court — of law
  15. tube — a container
  16. prune — to trim
  17. club — for golf
  18. tube — the underground
  19. firm — steady
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. firm — a company
  22. club — a group
  23. firm — decided
  24. saw — the tool

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