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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 120 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: pit · bark · branch · hide · racket · cold · court · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. court — for sport
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pit — in a race
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. pit — a hole
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cold — an illness
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. court — of a king
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — a division

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