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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. court — of a king
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. net — after costs
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. net — in sport
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. rash — a series
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. net — for catching
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. mouse — the animal

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