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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. branch — a division
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bound — tied together
  7. tube — a container
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. field — for sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — happy
  14. tube — the underground
  15. field — a subject
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. mate — to breed
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. field — farmland

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