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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: kid · prune · branch · bat · key · court · board · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. key — the most important part
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. court — of law
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. court — of a king
  8. kid — to tease
  9. board — a committee
  10. branch — a division
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. court — for sport
  13. key — for a lock
  14. board — to get on
  15. bat — the animal
  16. prune — to trim
  17. key — in music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. kid — child
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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