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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. spell — letters
  2. content — the amount
  3. present — there
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. present — a gift
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — thin
  15. pass — a permit
  16. net — after costs
  17. spell — a short time
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. present — the time now
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spell — magic
  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