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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. branch — a division
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. net — for catching
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wind — moving air
  13. court — of law
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. net — in sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stand — to bear
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. net — after costs
  22. face — to point toward
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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