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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — happy
  3. branch — a division
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. content — the amount
  13. stock — goods
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — shares
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. lash — to lash out

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