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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
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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: content · rock · wave · court · squash · branch · bat · stem

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. court — for sport
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stem — to come from
  17. branch — a division
  18. content — happy
  19. court — of a king
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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