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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: tear · spring · squash · court · branch · rule · snap · lie

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. spring — the season
  4. tear — from crying
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. squash — the sport
  8. snap — to click
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. court — for sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. branch — a division
  14. tear — to rip
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rule — government
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. rule — a law
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rule — to rule out

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