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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. branch — a division
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bulb — for light
  11. content — the amount
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. bulb — for light
  16. lean — thin
  17. wound — an injury
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. rush — hurry
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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