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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. court — of a king
  4. band — a ring
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. band — a music group
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. court — for sport
  11. rock — music
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. stem — to come from
  16. foot — a measure
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rock — a stone
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. court — of law

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