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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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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: pound · saw · court · cold · foot · calf · branch · band

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. band — a music group
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. band — a ring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. saw — the tool
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — for sport
  17. cold — an illness
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. foot — a measure
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pound — a weight

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