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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. march — music
  3. content — happy
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — help
  6. mate — a partner
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. kick — in football
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. hand — in cards
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mate — a friend
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. mate — to breed
  23. march — the month
  24. branch — a division

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