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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: game · row · court · net · stick · bulb · drill · branch

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. bulb — for light
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. game — a match
  5. net — in sport
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. net — after costs
  8. row — to paddle
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. branch — a division
  11. row — a line
  12. drill — the tool
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bulb — for light
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. game — wild animals
  22. net — for catching
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. court — of a king

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