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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. branch — a division
  3. capital — a city
  4. land — a country
  5. prune — to trim
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kid — child
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. prune — to trim
  13. content — the amount
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — money
  20. land — ground
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. ruler — for measuring

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