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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. can — a tin
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — in music
  7. kid — child
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. content — the amount
  10. can — a tin
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mate — a friend
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mate — to breed
  16. content — happy
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cold — not warm
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. can — to be able to
  24. scale — size or range

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