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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. content — the amount
  3. branch — a division
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. chip — for betting
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. content — happy
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. chip — to eat
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pop — music
  16. hand — help
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pop — soda
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stem — to come from
  24. branch — of a bank

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