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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 · capital · lie · tear · drill · court · fine · season

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. lie — to recline
  3. capital — money
  4. court — for sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. tear — from crying
  7. branch — a division
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. capital — a city
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. season — in sport
  19. court — of law
  20. drill — the tool
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — high quality
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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