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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: leaves · branch · ball · wind · date · sharp · court · face

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. court — of a king
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — clever
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. branch — a division
  15. court — of law
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. face — to point toward
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. date — the fruit
  24. court — for 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