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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. court — for sport
  4. scale — in music
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. date — the fruit
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. scale — size or range
  16. key — in music
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bark — to shout
  19. court — of law
  20. key — the most important part
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. branch — a division
  24. fine — high quality

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