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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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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 · race · key · straw · court · fan · land · chip

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. branch — a division
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. key — in music
  8. chip — to eat
  9. court — for sport
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. court — of a king
  12. land — ground
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chip — for betting
  15. key — for a lock
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. race — humankind
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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