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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: march · snap · branch · court · pitcher · track · club · rush

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. march — the month
  3. branch — a division
  4. track — to keep track
  5. march — the month
  6. rush — hurry
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. snap — to click
  10. march — music
  11. track — a song
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for golf
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of law
  22. club — for dancing
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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