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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stand — to bear
  3. present — a gift
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. band — a ring
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. present — there
  8. stock — goods
  9. content — happy
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stock — shares
  15. content — the amount
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. branch — a division
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chest — a box
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. band — a music group
  22. chest — of your body
  23. present — the time now
  24. branch — of a bank

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