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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 124 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chair — a leader
  3. shower — rain
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. track — a path
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pass — a permit
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. ball — a dance
  11. track — a song
  12. branch — a division
  13. sharp — clever
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. ball — a great time
  17. track — to keep track
  18. content — the amount
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. branch — of a bank

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