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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. saw — the tool
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. court — of law
  8. court — of a king
  9. snap — to click
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. court — for sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bark — to shout
  19. track — a song
  20. bat — the animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bat — for baseball

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