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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wound — an injury
  5. net — in sport
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bound — obliged
  8. branch — a division
  9. content — happy
  10. net — after costs
  11. bound — tied together
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. kid — child
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bound — certain
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. content — the amount
  21. object — to protest
  22. net — for catching
  23. kid — to tease
  24. branch — of a bank

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