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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: tube · bay · branch · court · cold · season · mine · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. court — of a king
  3. season — in sport
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. cold — an illness
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. branch — a division
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. tube — the underground
  17. season — of the year
  18. court — for sport
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. tube — a container
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. court — of law
  24. cold — the Cold War

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