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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wind · court · capital · mark · staff · temple · branch · pitcher

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. capital — money
  3. staff — employees
  4. wind — moving air
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mark — a grade
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. branch — a division
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wind — moving air
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — a stick
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — a city
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. wind — to turn a key

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