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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. content — the amount
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chest — a box
  11. face — to point toward
  12. chest — of your body
  13. branch — a division
  14. present — there
  15. present — the time now
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. snap — to click
  18. content — happy
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. face — to confront
  22. mine — for digging
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. face — part of the head

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