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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 116 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: court · track · press · staff · season · ball · bass · branch

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. ball — a dance
  5. track — to keep track
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. press — a publisher
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. press — newspapers
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. court — of law
  18. press — to push
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. court — for sport
  22. staff — employees
  23. ball — a great time
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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