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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: band · branch · fall · court · tube · rule · straw · mate

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rule — government
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — the underground
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. court — of a king
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. mate — to breed
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. fall — to drop
  14. band — a ring
  15. branch — a division
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — a friend
  19. court — for sport
  20. rule — a law
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. court — of law
  24. fall — the season

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