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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. court — of law
  3. branch — a division
  4. fine — high quality
  5. court — for sport
  6. track — a song
  7. present — there
  8. fine — all right
  9. plane — a tool
  10. court — of a king
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. track — to keep track
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — a position
  16. file — a tool
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. ground — crushed
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. file — a document
  21. present — the time now
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. file — a line of people
  24. track — a path

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