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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 116 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: land · court · rash · wave · sharp · branch · board · saw

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. court — of law
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. rash — hasty
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. saw — the tool
  15. board — to get on
  16. board — a committee
  17. land — to come down
  18. sharp — clever
  19. court — for sport
  20. branch — a division
  21. rash — a series
  22. land — a country
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. court — of a king

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