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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. pitch — completely
  4. band — a music group
  5. court — of law
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. band — a ring
  13. branch — a division
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. rock — a stone
  18. kick — in football
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. cold — not warm
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. cold — an illness
  24. court — for sport

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