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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. tube — a container
  3. ground — crushed
  4. branch — a division
  5. stock — shares
  6. drill — army training
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — happy
  12. bank — for money
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ground — the earth
  16. drill — the tool
  17. ground — a position
  18. stock — goods
  19. tube — the underground
  20. drill — a practice
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bank — for money
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bank — of a river

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