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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — happy
  7. chest — a box
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. capital — money
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lie — to recline
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. capital — a city
  16. band — a music group
  17. file — a tool
  18. chest — of your body
  19. band — a ring
  20. file — a document
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. content — the amount
  23. branch — of a tree
  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