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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. court — of law
  3. clip — a video
  4. branch — a division
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. swing — music
  8. race — the arms race
  9. swing — to play on
  10. court — for sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — in golf
  14. race — a contest
  15. clip — for paper
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. fall — the season
  18. bear — the animal
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bear — the animal
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — of a king

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