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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. mug — a cup
  3. object — a thing
  4. mug — a face
  5. content — happy
  6. object — to protest
  7. file — a line of people
  8. game — wild animals
  9. file — a document
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. game — a match
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. file — a tool
  14. content — the amount
  15. object — an aim
  16. net — after costs
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. branch — a division
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. net — in sport
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. net — for catching
  24. game — a kind of play

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