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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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468
Word bank
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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. content — happy
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. present — a gift
  5. content — the amount
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. present — there
  8. present — the time now
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kick — in football
  11. club — for golf
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. club — a group
  15. branch — a division
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fork — in a road
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. club — for dancing
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fork — to eat with
  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