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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. season — of the year
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. branch — a division
  6. court — of law
  7. chip — to eat
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. court — of a king
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. season — in sport
  16. game — wild animals
  17. game — a match
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. chip — for betting
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. court — for sport

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