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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. court — for sport
  4. board — a committee
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bore — to drill
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. court — of a king
  11. board — to get on
  12. file — a document
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. file — a tool
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. court — of law
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a path
  20. branch — a division
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. cue — for pool
  24. track — a song

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