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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. content — happy
  4. bound — obliged
  5. shower — rain
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. shower — to wash
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bound — tied together
  12. root — of a plant
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. branch — a division
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bound — certain
  19. root — of a word
  20. content — the amount
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. root — the cause

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