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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. bound — certain
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. branch — a division
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wound — an injury
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. band — a ring
  17. clip — to cut
  18. content — happy
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a music group
  23. clip — a video
  24. branch — of a tree

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