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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · bay · pass · mine · branch · chest · fan · jam

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. chest — of your body
  3. court — for sport
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. mine — for digging
  8. chest — a box
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. court — of law
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. court — of a king
  21. branch — a division
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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