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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. current — of water
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. content — happy
  5. branch — a division
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pitch — completely
  8. content — the amount
  9. current — electric
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. current — happening now
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. squash — to crush

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