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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pitch — completely
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. key — for a lock
  6. mate — a friend
  7. key — in music
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. fork — in a road
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. branch — a division
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. content — the amount
  20. mate — to breed
  21. key — the most important part
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. mouse — the animal

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