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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rock · trunk · ground · patient · prune · shower · fork · court

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. court — for sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. rock — a stone
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — rain
  11. court — of law
  12. ground — the earth
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fork — in a road
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. court — of a king
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ground — crushed
  19. prune — to trim
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ground — a position
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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