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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. staff — employees
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. kid — child
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. court — for sport
  10. cell — a phone
  11. branch — a division
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. cell — in biology
  17. drill — the tool
  18. court — of a king
  19. drill — a practice
  20. stock — goods
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. drill — army training

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