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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. net — for catching
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. net — after costs
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bore — to drill
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. chair — a leader
  17. branch — a division
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. net — in sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. content — videos and posts

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