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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. court — of law
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. fall — to drop
  5. branch — a division
  6. prune — to trim
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. club — for golf
  9. bass — low music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. club — a group
  12. fall — the season
  13. prune — to trim
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. club — for dancing
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. court — of a king
  19. fork — in a road
  20. face — to point toward
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. face — to confront
  23. fork — to eat with
  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