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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 124 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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — finally
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. last — to go on
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. march — the month
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. last — final
  13. pit — a hole
  14. content — the amount
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. branch — a division
  19. march — music
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. march — the month
  23. pit — in a race
  24. content — videos and posts

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