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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rash — a series
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. sharp — clever
  7. content — happy
  8. field — a subject
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. tube — a container
  12. rash — hasty
  13. lie — to recline
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. field — farmland
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. branch — a division
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. field — for sport

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