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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: fan · leaves · wake · tear · plane · bore · prune · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bore — to drill
  9. tear — to rip
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. court — of law
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wake — a trail
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bore — to tire

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