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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · branch · chest · wound · present · spell · court · object

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — magic
  4. present — a gift
  5. row — a line
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. present — there
  8. chest — of your body
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. spell — letters
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. chest — a box
  14. wound — an injury
  15. object — an aim
  16. row — to paddle
  17. spell — a short time
  18. branch — a division
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. wound — an injury
  21. present — the time now
  22. object — to protest
  23. court — of a king
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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