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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: cue · kid · ball · branch · land · last · cell · bowl

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. last — finally
  3. branch — a division
  4. last — to go on
  5. cue — for pool
  6. land — ground
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cell — a phone
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. last — final
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. cue — a signal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. ball — a dance
  17. cue — a hint
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — a country
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — child
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cell — in biology

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