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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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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: rule · court · dip · calf · branch · fall · band · cap

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. dip — to sink
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. fall — the season
  11. court — of law
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cap — a lid
  14. rule — government
  15. cap — of ice
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cap — a hat
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. band — a music group
  21. branch — a division
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a rubber band

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