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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 124 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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  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. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. content — happy
  5. branch — a division
  6. court — for sport
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. court — of law
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. date — the fruit
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. content — the amount
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. court — of a king
  18. content — videos and posts

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