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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. content — happy
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. pitch — completely
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. branch — a division
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bass — the fish
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. content — the amount
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. court — of a king
  24. racket — for tennis

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