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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · kick · court · bound · content · mine · jam · branch

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. court — of law
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. content — the amount
  5. court — of a king
  6. bound — certain
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. branch — a division
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bound — tied together
  17. mine — for digging
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. kick — in football
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. content — happy
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. court — for sport
  24. content — videos and posts

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