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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. net — in sport
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chair — a leader
  7. track — a song
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. branch — a division
  12. net — for catching
  13. staff — employees
  14. track — a path
  15. net — after costs
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. staff — a stick
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. track — to keep track
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. content — the amount
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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