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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bear — the animal
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. branch — a division
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cold — an illness
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. rest — a break
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. current — electric
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. current — happening now
  19. content — happy
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chair — a leader
  22. current — of water
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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