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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. stem — to come from
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — a division
  13. mug — a face
  14. fork — in a road
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. content — happy
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. mug — a cup
  24. wake — a trail

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