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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 124 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. branch — of a bank
  3. content — the amount
  4. cap — a lid
  5. race — a contest
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cap — of ice
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. race — humankind
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cold — not warm
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. squash — the sport
  19. perch — the fish
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. content — happy
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. branch — a division
  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