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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. file — a document
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. cell — in biology
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. ball — a dance
  12. last — finally
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. file — a tool
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. branch — a division
  18. cell — a phone
  19. file — a line of people
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. club — a group
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — in a prison

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