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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: leaves · cue · court · net · cold · wake · branch · plane

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. net — after costs
  7. court — for sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — a division
  10. cold — not warm
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. court — of a king
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. wake — a trail
  19. court — of law
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. plane — a tool
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — in sport

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