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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spell — magic
  3. spell — letters
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. lean — to bend
  7. spell — a short time
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. lean — thin
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. kid — to tease
  14. branch — a division
  15. content — happy
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kid — child
  18. kick — in football

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