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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — happy
  6. branch — a division
  7. charge — a price
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. spring — the season
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cell — in biology
  13. charge — electricity
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cue — a signal
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. cue — a hint
  19. spring — of water
  20. charge — in control
  21. cell — a phone
  22. content — the amount
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cue — for pool

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