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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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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: court · branch · hide · track · ball · fall · board · season

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. fall — to drop
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. court — of law
  6. branch — a division
  7. board — a committee
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. season — of the year
  11. fall — the season
  12. season — in sport
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. ball — a dance
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. ball — a great time
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. board — to get on
  21. court — of a king
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. fall — to drop
  24. court — for sport

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