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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. content — happy
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. content — the amount
  6. branch — a division
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. track — a song
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. track — to keep track
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pound — a weight
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. file — a document
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. file — a tool
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kick — in football
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. track — a path

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