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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. court — of a king
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. court — for sport
  6. branch — a division
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cell — in biology
  9. row — a line
  10. swing — to play on
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. court — of law
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cue — for pool
  15. swing — in golf
  16. cue — a signal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cell — a phone
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. row — to paddle
  23. tear — to rip
  24. swing — music

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