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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.

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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: season · row · dip · staff · court · pitcher · branch · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. row — a line
  3. court — of a king
  4. staff — employees
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. season — of the year
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. season — in sport
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. court — of law
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. branch — a division
  18. dip — to sink
  19. row — to paddle
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. court — for sport

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