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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. file — a document
  7. mine — for digging
  8. capital — money
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. file — a line of people
  11. club — for dancing
  12. club — a group
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. capital — a city
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. branch — a division
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. file — a tool
  23. stem — to come from
  24. club — for golf

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