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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. court — for sport
  3. track — a song
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mug — to rob
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mug — a cup
  16. track — a path
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. court — of law
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ball — a dance
  21. track — to keep track
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hand — help
  24. court — of a king

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