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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: calf · game · bark · branch · fan · court

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. court — of law
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. game — a match
  11. court — of a king
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. court — for sport
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. game — wild animals
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. branch — a division

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