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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. court — for sport
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wound — an injury
  6. net — for catching
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. track — a song
  10. net — in sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. track — a path
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wound — an injury
  18. court — of law
  19. net — after costs
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. court — of a king
  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