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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. branch — a division
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. cold — not warm
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cold — an illness
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. court — of law
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. safe — a strongbox

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