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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. tube — a container
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. court — of a king
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. squash — to crush
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rash — a series
  19. branch — a division
  20. kick — in football
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  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