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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. branch — a division
  4. chest — of your body
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. wake — a trail
  7. chest — a box
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. band — a ring
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. content — happy
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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