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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. branch — a division
  3. capital — a city
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bound — certain
  7. court — for sport
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. capital — money
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. court — of a king
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bound — obliged
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. kick — in football
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. field — for sport
  23. bound — tied together
  24. racket — for tennis

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