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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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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: chest · fan · stand · land · court · spell · prune · mug

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. land — a country
  3. prune — to trim
  4. land — ground
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mug — a cup
  9. court — for sport
  10. stand — to bear
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. court — of a king
  13. land — to come down
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spell — magic
  17. mug — to rob
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. mug — a face
  20. chest — a box
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. court — of law
  24. spell — letters

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