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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. branch — of a bank
  2. mate — a partner
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. land — ground
  5. swing — music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. content — happy
  8. cell — in biology
  9. land — a country
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. swing — to play on
  17. branch — a division
  18. land — to come down
  19. cell — a phone
  20. shower — rain
  21. bore — to drill
  22. mate — to breed
  23. content — the amount
  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