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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: field · branch · bark · kick · lie · court · leaves · tube

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. court — for sport
  3. lie — to recline
  4. field — a subject
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. field — for sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tube — a container
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. branch — a division
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. kick — in football
  18. tube — the underground
  19. court — of a king
  20. field — farmland
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bark — to shout
  24. court — of law

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