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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. branch — a division
  3. spell — magic
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. content — the amount
  6. charge — in control
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. content — happy
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. charge — a price
  16. clip — a video
  17. squash — to crush
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. charge — electricity
  21. squash — the sport
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. spell — letters
  24. clip — for paper

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