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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 116 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 · mate · spring · last · chair · can · bore

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. bore — to tire
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mate — a partner
  8. chair — a leader
  9. court — of a king
  10. mate — a friend
  11. spring — of water
  12. bore — to drill
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. spring — the season
  16. can — a tin
  17. court — for sport
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. court — of law
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. last — finally
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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