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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. net — after costs
  3. bear — the animal
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. fine — high quality
  8. net — in sport
  9. band — a ring
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. band — a music group
  12. court — of law
  13. content — happy
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. net — for catching
  23. branch — of a tree
  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