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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. ground — the earth
  4. spring — a coil
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. ground — a position
  7. court — of a king
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. court — of law
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. spring — the season
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. swing — music
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. swing — to play on
  20. ground — crushed
  21. swing — in golf
  22. branch — a division
  23. spring — of water
  24. wax — in the ear

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