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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 120 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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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: branch · court · wound · charge · content · stand · race · cold

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. race — humankind
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. charge — a price
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — the arms race
  11. content — happy
  12. charge — electricity
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. race — a contest
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. court — for sport
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. court — of a king
  20. branch — a division
  21. content — the amount
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cold — not warm

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