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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · plane · cold · prune · leaves · field · branch · ruler

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. field — farmland
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. branch — a division
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. court — of law
  11. field — a subject
  12. court — for sport
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. court — of a king
  16. cold — an illness
  17. field — for sport
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — not warm
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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