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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rash — hasty
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. content — happy
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. capital — a city
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. branch — a division
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rash — a series
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. snap — to click
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. capital — money
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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