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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 124 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. content — the amount
  7. tube — a container
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. roll — a list
  10. branch — a division
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. tube — the underground
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. roll — a cake
  19. foot — a measure
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. branch — of a tree

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