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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
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: pop · game · season · last · court · chair · face · branch

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. game — a match
  3. face — to confront
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pop — music
  6. season — in sport
  7. face — part of the head
  8. season — of the year
  9. court — of a king
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. pop — soda
  16. last — final
  17. court — of law
  18. face — to point toward
  19. last — finally
  20. branch — a division
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. last — to go on
  23. court — for sport
  24. pop — to visit

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