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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. court — of a king
  4. pop — to visit
  5. content — the amount
  6. rule — government
  7. court — of law
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. pop — music
  10. rule — a law
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. roll — a list
  14. court — for sport
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. branch — a division
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. capital — a city
  21. roll — a cake
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. capital — money
  24. content — happy

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