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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. content — the amount
  4. present — the time now
  5. bear — the animal
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bear — the animal
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. present — a gift
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — of ice
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — there
  23. cap — a lid
  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