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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. content — the amount
  4. plane — a tool
  5. shower — rain
  6. cell — a phone
  7. content — happy
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — a division
  10. clip — to cut
  11. shower — to wash
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stand — to bear
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. clip — a video
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. clip — for paper
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pound — a weight
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cell — in biology

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