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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bank — for money
  4. tube — the underground
  5. hand — in cards
  6. branch — a division
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. bank — for money
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bank — of a river
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. tube — a container
  17. game — a match
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. game — a kind of play

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