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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: arm · cue · court · branch · mate · pass · prune · cold

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cue — for pool
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. mate — a partner
  8. branch — a division
  9. cue — a hint
  10. court — of law
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cue — a signal
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. court — for sport
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mate — to breed
  22. prune — to trim
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cold — not warm

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