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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. swing — in golf
  3. root — of a word
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. content — the amount
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. root — of a plant
  12. branch — a division
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. root — the cause
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bore — to tire
  22. swing — to play on
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. swing — music

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