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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. season — in sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. fall — the season
  8. court — of law
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. season — of the year
  11. fall — to drop
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. kid — child
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. fall — to drop
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. board — to get on
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. board — a committee
  24. court — of a king

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