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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. court — for sport
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stem — to come from
  7. kid — child
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. court — of a king
  11. saw — the tool
  12. branch — a division
  13. saw — the tool
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. rush — hurry
  17. kid — to tease
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. court — of law
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. date — the fruit
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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