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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. swing — to play on
  4. firm — a company
  5. pop — to visit
  6. cell — in biology
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cell — a phone
  14. branch — a division
  15. firm — steady
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. pop — music
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wound — an injury
  22. swing — music
  23. pop — soda
  24. branch — of a tree

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