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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kid — child
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. squash — to crush
  5. branch — a division
  6. net — after costs
  7. kid — to tease
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. net — in sport
  16. bound — certain
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bound — obliged
  20. content — the amount
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. net — for catching
  24. content — happy

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