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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. spell — magic
  7. can — a tin
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. content — the amount
  12. clip — for paper
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spell — letters
  16. content — happy
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. branch — a division

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