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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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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: bat · branch · clip · pitcher · court · firm · bank · current

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. court — of a king
  4. current — happening now
  5. firm — steady
  6. clip — to cut
  7. firm — a company
  8. bat — the animal
  9. firm — decided
  10. bank — for money
  11. clip — a video
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bank — of a river
  14. current — electric
  15. current — of water
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. court — for sport
  19. bank — for money
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. court — of law
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — in an idiom

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