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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 got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. branch — a division
  3. content — happy
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. key — the most important part
  7. season — of the year
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. clip — to cut
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. board — a committee
  12. season — in sport
  13. board — to get on
  14. clip — a video
  15. mark — a trace
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — the animal
  21. content — the amount
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. clip — for paper

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