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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. content — happy
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. content — the amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. board — to get on
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. branch — a division
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stem — to come from
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish

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