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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. hand — help
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. content — the amount
  13. cap — a lid
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — in sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. branch — a division
  20. court — of law
  21. content — happy
  22. pound — a weight
  23. hand — in cards
  24. content — videos and posts

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