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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: firm · ruler · cold · mark · court · branch · straw · leaves

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. court — of a king
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mark — a grade
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — decided
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cold — an illness
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. court — for sport
  15. branch — a division
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. firm — steady
  24. court — of law

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