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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wake — a trail
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. root — of a word
  6. net — for catching
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. root — of a plant
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. branch — a division
  11. snap — to click
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. root — the cause
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. net — in sport
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. net — after costs
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. calf — of the leg

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