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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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pound — a weight
  8. content — the amount
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. current — electric
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. current — happening now
  16. branch — a division
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. capital — a city
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. current — of water
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. capital — money

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