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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. content — happy
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. court — of a king
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. branch — a division
  11. capital — money
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. court — of law
  14. bulb — for light
  15. court — for sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. capital — a city
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. content — the amount
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fall — the season

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