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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 116 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — a division
  5. swing — in golf
  6. object — to protest
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. swing — music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. content — the amount
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. content — happy
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitch — completely
  19. rest — a break
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. object — an aim
  22. rest — what's left
  23. object — a thing
  24. snap — to click

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