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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: prune · bound · net · wind · pop · court · nail · dip

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wind — moving air
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. pop — soda
  5. wind — moving air
  6. court — of a king
  7. bound — tied together
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. bound — certain
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. dip — to sink
  15. prune — to trim
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. court — for sport
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pop — music
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. pop — to visit
  22. net — for catching
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. wind — to turn a key

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