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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · lie · cold · branch · rash · scale · stem · straw

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. court — of law
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — a division
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. lie — to recline
  14. stem — to come from
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. rash — hasty
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rash — a series
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. court — for sport
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rash — on the skin

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