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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mug — to rob
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. roll — a list
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. game — a match
  16. mug — a cup
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mug — a face
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. roll — a cake
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. game — a kind of play

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