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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. kid — child
  3. last — to go on
  4. kid — to tease
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. cell — in biology
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cell — a phone
  9. branch — a division
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. content — the amount
  13. last — finally
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. last — final
  21. season — in sport
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. season — of the year
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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