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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
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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: last · court · ball · cell · branch · bear · bat · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. board — to get on
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. board — a committee
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bear — the animal
  9. court — of a king
  10. cell — a phone
  11. court — of law
  12. last — finally
  13. bear — the animal
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. last — to go on
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. last — final
  22. branch — a division
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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