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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 120 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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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: prune · cold · hide · mark · kick · spell · court · pound

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mark — a grade
  4. pound — a weight
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. kick — in football
  7. court — of a king
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. prune — to trim
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. prune — to trim
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spell — letters
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. mark — a trace
  22. court — for sport
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. court — of law

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