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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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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. court — of law
  7. season — in sport
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. squash — the sport
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. plane — a tool
  15. court — of a king
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. season — of the year

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