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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 120 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. mine — for digging
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. capital — money
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. snap — to click
  20. perch — the fish
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stand — to bear
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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