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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. squash — to crush
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. content — happy
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. branch — a division
  8. dip — to sink
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. squash — the sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wound — an injury
  14. land — a country
  15. content — the amount
  16. land — ground
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — an injury
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. land — to come down

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