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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mark — a grade
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. mark — a trace
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fall — the season
  17. branch — a division
  18. court — of law
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lean — thin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — a box
  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