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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: court · hide · fan · drill · roll · prune · stock · mate

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. court — of a king
  4. drill — the tool
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. court — for sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. drill — a practice
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. roll — a list
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stock — shares
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mate — to breed
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. roll — a cake
  19. drill — army training
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stock — goods
  22. court — of law
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. stock — a soup base

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