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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
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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: band · branch · court · game · press · row · board · kid

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. branch — a division
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. court — of law
  6. band — a ring
  7. board — to get on
  8. row — to paddle
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. kid — to tease
  12. court — for sport
  13. row — a line
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. court — of a king
  17. press — a publisher
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. game — a match
  20. board — a committee
  21. game — wild animals
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. kid — child

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