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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: court · foot · branch · wind · band · pop · bowl · wake

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pop — music
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — a division
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. court — of law
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. foot — a measure
  11. pop — soda
  12. band — a music group
  13. court — of a king
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. band — a ring
  22. wind — moving air
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. court — for sport

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