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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 120 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: hand · branch · stick · court · wind · fork · chair · band

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — help
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. fork — in a road
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. court — of law
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. branch — a division
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. court — of a king
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — for sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. band — a ring
  24. chair — a leader

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