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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. mate — a partner
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. mate — a friend
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. court — of law
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. lean — thin
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. date — the fruit
  12. court — of a king
  13. mate — to breed
  14. land — a country
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. court — for sport
  17. lean — to bend
  18. branch — a division
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to click
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. date — on the calendar

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