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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. drill — the tool
  8. march — music
  9. pop — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. land — a country
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. land — ground
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. land — to come down
  20. branch — a division
  21. march — the month
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. current — happening now

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