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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. net — after costs
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. saw — the tool
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. march — music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. net — in sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — an illness
  22. march — the month
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. safe — out of danger

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