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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. current — happening now
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. current — of water
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. kick — in football
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. current — electric
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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