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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: cap · net · bound · board · court · shower · game · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. shower — rain
  4. cap — a lid
  5. game — wild animals
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — a match
  9. court — for sport
  10. prune — to trim
  11. net — after costs
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. net — in sport
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bound — certain
  17. court — of a king
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. board — a committee
  21. shower — to wash
  22. court — of law
  23. cap — a hat
  24. board — to get on

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