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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. prune — to trim
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — a division
  5. row — to paddle
  6. rock — music
  7. rule — a law
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. content — the amount
  11. rock — a stone
  12. plane — a tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. row — a line
  16. drill — the tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. rule — government
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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