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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. branch — a division
  5. lean — thin
  6. mate — a partner
  7. land — to come down
  8. mate — to breed
  9. pound — a weight
  10. content — happy
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. mate — a friend
  13. scale — size or range
  14. land — ground
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. scale — in music
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. content — the amount
  20. lean — to bend
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. land — a country
  24. toast — bread

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