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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: cue · nail · bear · land · ground · branch · row · court

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. row — a line
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. court — for sport
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cue — for pool
  10. court — of a king
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bear — the animal
  13. ground — the earth
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. land — to come down
  16. ground — crushed
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — a hint
  19. court — of law
  20. land — a country
  21. ground — a position
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. row — to paddle

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