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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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — a division
  3. land — to come down
  4. wind — moving air
  5. track — a song
  6. foot — a measure
  7. court — for sport
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. swing — to play on
  10. court — of law
  11. land — ground
  12. wind — moving air
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. swing — in golf
  15. track — to keep track
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. land — a country
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. court — of a king
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. track — a path
  24. swing — music

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