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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. march — the month
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — happy
  8. hand — in cards
  9. march — music
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mug — a cup
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mug — to rob
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. march — the month
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. branch — a division
  21. mug — a face
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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