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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. court — of a king
  6. deal — to handle
  7. board — to get on
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. court — of law
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. board — a committee
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. branch — a division
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. court — for sport
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bowl — a football final

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