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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. net — for catching
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. court — of a king
  9. branch — a division
  10. fall — the season
  11. court — for sport
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. track — a song
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. court — of law
  16. bear — the animal
  17. net — after costs
  18. bear — the animal
  19. track — a path
  20. fall — to drop
  21. net — in sport
  22. track — to keep track
  23. scale — in music
  24. fall — to drop

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