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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. branch — a division
  3. net — for catching
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fine — high quality
  7. mark — a grade
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. season — of the year
  10. track — a path
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. track — a song
  14. mark — a trace
  15. content — happy
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fine — all right
  20. net — after costs
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. season — in sport
  24. content — the amount

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