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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. net — for catching
  3. season — in sport
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. season — of the year
  6. court — of a king
  7. branch — a division
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. net — in sport
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. game — a match
  17. cell — in biology
  18. march — music
  19. cell — a phone
  20. game — wild animals
  21. march — the month
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. net — after costs

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