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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. board — to get on
  3. key — in music
  4. spring — a coil
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. squash — the sport
  7. key — the most important part
  8. shower — to wash
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. branch — a division
  13. shower — rain
  14. board — a committee
  15. squash — to crush
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. court — of a king
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. band — a ring
  20. key — for a lock
  21. spring — of water
  22. court — for sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spring — the season

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