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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. land — to come down
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. swing — to play on
  8. net — in sport
  9. swing — in golf
  10. tube — a container
  11. net — after costs
  12. court — of law
  13. branch — a division
  14. tube — the underground
  15. court — for sport
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. land — a country
  18. net — for catching
  19. land — ground
  20. lean — to bend
  21. cell — in biology
  22. court — of a king
  23. cell — a phone
  24. lean — thin

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