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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: calf · court · pop · row · fall · wake · mouse · branch

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. court — of law
  3. row — a line
  4. pop — soda
  5. branch — a division
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. court — of a king
  9. wake — a trail
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — for sport
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pop — to visit
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. fall — the season
  21. pop — music
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. calf — of the leg

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