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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. content — happy
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. mate — to breed
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. content — the amount
  14. mate — a friend
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wind — moving air
  18. foot — a measure
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wound — an injury
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. ruler — for measuring

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