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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: land · wake · deal · game · racket · branch · court · date

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. court — of law
  5. land — to come down
  6. court — for sport
  7. deal — to handle
  8. branch — a division
  9. game — wild animals
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. date — the fruit
  12. wake — a trail
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. land — a country
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. land — ground
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. court — of a king
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wake — before a funeral

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