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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: present · court · bass · bowl · snap · rest · branch · land

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. present — a gift
  3. court — for sport
  4. rest — what's left
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. present — the time now
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. snap — to click
  10. branch — a division
  11. court — of law
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. court — of a king
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bass — low music
  17. land — to come down
  18. bass — the fish
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. rest — a break
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. present — there
  24. branch — of a bank

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