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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. hand — in cards
  3. court — of law
  4. squash — the sport
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. court — for sport
  8. hand — help
  9. squash — to crush
  10. sharp — clever
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bound — certain
  19. branch — a division
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — obliged
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. branch — of a tree

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