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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: court · chair · swing · straw · branch · bark · lie · scale

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. court — of law
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lie — to recline
  5. swing — music
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. scale — in music
  13. bark — to shout
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. court — for sport
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chair — a leader
  24. court — of a king

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