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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. content — happy
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. face — to point toward
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. swing — to play on
  9. roll — a cake
  10. swing — in golf
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. branch — a division
  13. face — to confront
  14. rash — a series
  15. roll — a list
  16. rash — hasty
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. swing — music
  19. face — part of the head
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. content — the amount
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. content — videos and posts

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