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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: court · file · net · track · branch · date · game · present

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. net — for catching
  9. track — a song
  10. date — the fruit
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. present — the time now
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. present — there
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — of law
  20. present — a gift
  21. branch — a division
  22. track — a path
  23. court — for sport
  24. track — to keep track

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