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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. face — to point toward
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. field — a subject
  8. suit — in cards
  9. swing — in golf
  10. suit — to fit
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. content — happy
  16. branch — a division
  17. suit — clothes
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — music
  20. face — part of the head
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. face — to confront
  24. bat — the animal

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