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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. content — happy
  6. mate — a friend
  7. content — the amount
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. face — to point toward
  10. degree — temperature
  11. face — part of the head
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. degree — from a university
  15. kick — in football
  16. face — to confront
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. degree — an amount
  19. branch — a division
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mate — a partner

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