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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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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: squash · mine · rock · court · season · drill · branch · deal

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. season — of the year
  3. court — for sport
  4. season — in sport
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. rock — music
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. branch — a division
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. drill — a practice
  17. court — of a king
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rock — a stone
  23. deal — to handle
  24. rock — to move gently

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