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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bass — low music
  3. bark — to shout
  4. mate — a partner
  5. court — of law
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. land — to come down
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mate — a friend
  16. court — of a king
  17. branch — a division
  18. mate — to breed
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. court — for sport
  24. straw — dry grass

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