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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 116 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. tear — to rip
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. content — happy
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. content — the amount
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ground — a position
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. ground — the earth
  15. mark — a grade
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. tear — from crying
  18. perch — the fish
  19. tear — from crying
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bowl — to roll

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