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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. content — the amount
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pop — soda
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cap — a lid
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. cap — a hat
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. branch — a division
  16. pop — to visit
  17. game — a match
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. wake — a trail
  22. pop — music
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. tube — the underground

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