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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. court — of law
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. content — happy
  8. court — of a king
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. court — for sport
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mine — for digging
  17. branch — a division
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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