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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. content — happy
  4. branch — a division
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. march — the month
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. march — music
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. chip — for betting
  16. spring — the season
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. spring — of water
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chip — to eat
  22. pound — a weight
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pound — for dogs

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