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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. branch — a division
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. content — the amount
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. mate — to breed
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — happy
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. season — in sport
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. season — of the year
  22. mate — a friend
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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