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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 116 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: racket · court · net · branch · field · bound · cell · staff

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cell — in biology
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bound — certain
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. court — of a king
  9. net — in sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. net — after costs
  13. branch — a division
  14. court — for sport
  15. bound — tied together
  16. court — of law
  17. staff — a stick
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. field — for sport
  20. cell — a phone
  21. staff — employees
  22. field — farmland
  23. staff — employees
  24. net — for catching

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