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

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. ball — a great time
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — soda
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. pop — music
  11. bark — to shout
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. branch — a division
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. court — of a king
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. cabinet — ministers

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