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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bore — to tire
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — size or range
  6. game — a match
  7. court — for sport
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. snap — to click
  10. branch — a division
  11. scale — in music
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. fall — to drop
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bore — to drill
  21. fall — the season
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. court — of a king
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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