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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. branch — a division
  3. bound — certain
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. present — the time now
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. content — happy
  13. pitch — completely
  14. cold — an illness
  15. present — a gift
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bound — obliged
  22. present — there
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. arm — a part of something

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