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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. pit — a hole
  3. court — of a king
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. plane — a tool
  7. band — a music group
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. cold — an illness
  14. branch — a division
  15. court — for sport
  16. band — a ring
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cold — the Cold War

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