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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 120 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: hand · court · ball · clip · row · ground · branch · mark

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — the earth
  4. court — for sport
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. court — of a king
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. court — of law
  14. ball — a great time
  15. mark — a trace
  16. clip — to cut
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. ground — crushed
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. row — a line
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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