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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.

Make a worksheet

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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cell — in biology
  3. kick — in football
  4. court — for sport
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. court — of a king
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. branch — a division
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bark — to shout
  16. scale — in music
  17. court — of law
  18. cell — a phone

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