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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bound — certain
  8. swing — music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — a division
  11. pit — in a race
  12. row — a line
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. content — the amount
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cold — not warm
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. content — happy
  20. swing — to play on
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bound — tied together
  24. fan — to cool the air

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