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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. swing — to play on
  3. key — in music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. key — for a lock
  6. content — happy
  7. branch — a division
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. content — the amount
  11. game — a match
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bark — to shout
  14. game — wild animals
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. swing — music
  18. file — a document
  19. capital — money
  20. key — the most important part
  21. file — a tool
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. content — videos and posts

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