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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. land — a country
  7. content — the amount
  8. chest — of your body
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. land — ground
  11. branch — a division
  12. chest — of your body
  13. capital — money
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. land — to come down
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chest — a box
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — happy
  21. file — a document
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. file — a line of people

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