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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. content — happy
  3. branch — a division
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. band — a music group
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. capital — a city
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. content — the amount
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. band — a ring
  16. capital — money
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. branch — of a tree

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