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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. squash — the sport
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. content — happy
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. squash — to crush
  11. board — to get on
  12. band — a music group
  13. content — the amount
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — a series
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. band — a ring
  22. branch — a division
  23. sharp — clever
  24. board — a committee

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