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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 116 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. degree — an amount
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. content — the amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. hand — in cards
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. track — a song
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. track — a path
  23. degree — temperature
  24. content — happy

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