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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bark — to shout
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. pass — a permit
  8. capital — money
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cap — a lid
  13. content — the amount
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. chair — a leader
  22. capital — a city
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. branch — a division

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