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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. shower — rain
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. fine — high quality
  10. shower — to wash
  11. drill — army training
  12. pass — a permit
  13. content — the amount
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. drill — the tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fine — all right
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. drill — a practice
  24. branch — a division

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