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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. branch — a division
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mug — a cup
  11. game — a match
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. court — of law
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. mug — a face
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mug — to rob
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bat — the animal
  24. branch — of a bank

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