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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: prune · wind · court · saw · firm · deal · plane · chair

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. prune — to trim
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. deal — to handle
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. firm — steady
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. saw — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. court — of a king
  17. wind — moving air
  18. saw — the tool
  19. court — for sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. plane — a tool
  22. chair — a leader
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. plane — in geometry

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