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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: branch · court · stick · leaves · chest · game · pound · lash

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — a weight
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. court — of a king
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chest — a box
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. court — for sport
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. branch — a division
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. court — of law
  24. leaves — of a tree

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