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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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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stand — to bear
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. file — a line of people
  6. content — happy
  7. branch — a division
  8. file — a document
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. capital — a city
  11. file — a tool
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. content — the amount
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. capital — money
  18. stand — for spectators

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