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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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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: racket · band · plane · face · snap · branch · tear · court

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. court — of law
  6. court — of a king
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a ring
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. branch — a division
  17. plane — a tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. court — for sport
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. face — part of the head
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. tear — to rip

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