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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. content — happy
  3. pop — soda
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. object — an aim
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. object — a thing
  10. chair — a leader
  11. dip — to sink
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. content — the amount
  19. pop — music
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. object — to protest
  22. pop — to visit
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. branch — a division

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