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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. court — of a king
  4. land — ground
  5. branch — a division
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. lie — to recline
  8. land — to come down
  9. court — for sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mark — a trace
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — a country
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. snap — to click
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mark — a grade
  19. court — of law
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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