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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: court · bass · vault · bore · rest · field · branch · current

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bass — low music
  3. court — of a king
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rest — what's left
  6. court — for sport
  7. current — happening now
  8. bore — to tire
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. vault — a safe
  11. court — of law
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. field — a subject
  15. bore — to drill
  16. current — of water
  17. field — farmland
  18. rest — a break
  19. current — electric
  20. rest — what's left
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. field — for sport
  23. bass — the fish
  24. branch — of a bank

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