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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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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: rule · can · clip · court · current · branch · march · pit

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rule — government
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. march — music
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pit — in a race
  7. branch — a division
  8. current — electric
  9. court — of law
  10. can — a tin
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. can — to be able to
  13. court — of a king
  14. clip — for paper
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rule — a law
  17. current — of water
  18. march — the month
  19. can — a tin
  20. current — happening now
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — the month

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