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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. court — of a king
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — for sport
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. can — a tin
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. can — a tin
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tube — a container
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. branch — a division
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. can — to be able to
  22. scale — in music
  23. court — of law
  24. branch — of a tree

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