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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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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: branch · mug · court · leaves · pop · lie · race · tube

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. pop — music
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mug — a face
  7. mug — a cup
  8. tube — a container
  9. court — of law
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. mug — to rob
  13. branch — a division
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. pop — soda
  16. court — for sport
  17. lie — to recline
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. pop — to visit
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. court — of a king
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. race — a contest

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