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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pop — soda
  3. stem — to come from
  4. board — a committee
  5. bound — obliged
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bound — tied together
  8. content — happy
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pop — to visit
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. board — to get on
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. branch — a division
  21. pop — music
  22. net — after costs
  23. bound — certain
  24. branch — of a tree

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