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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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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: court · band · plane · stem · tube · game · branch · lean

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. lean — thin
  4. court — for sport
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. court — of law
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. tube — the underground
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. tube — a container
  13. game — a match
  14. band — a music group
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. plane — a tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. court — of a king
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. band — a ring
  24. stem — to come from

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