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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. net — in sport
  3. branch — a division
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. kid — to tease
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. net — after costs
  9. stand — to bear
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. content — the amount
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. clip — to cut
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — child
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. net — for catching

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