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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. rock — music
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. capital — a city
  5. rock — a stone
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. perch — the fish
  17. content — happy
  18. chair — a leader
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. capital — money
  24. trunk — of a car

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