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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: nail · pit · march · present · spell · court · wake · branch

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. spell — letters
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pit — a hole
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. march — the month
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. march — music
  10. branch — a division
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spell — magic
  15. march — the month
  16. present — the time now
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wake — a trail
  20. present — there
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. present — a gift
  24. pit — in a race

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