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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: safe · prune · mark · court · band · land · kick · deal

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. band — a ring
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. land — ground
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. prune — to trim
  12. land — a country
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mark — a trace
  15. band — a music group
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. court — of law
  18. mark — a grade
  19. prune — to trim
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. land — to come down
  24. kick — in football

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