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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 · branch · ground · last · cap · bay · wake · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. rule — government
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. court — of law
  7. cap — a hat
  8. rule — a law
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. ground — a position
  13. last — final
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cap — a lid
  16. last — finally
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wake — a trail
  19. court — of a king
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. branch — a division
  22. last — to go on
  23. cap — of ice
  24. branch — 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