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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. content — happy
  3. branch — a division
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. can — a tin
  8. tear — from crying
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. can — a tin
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. ball — a dance
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. ball — a great time
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. content — the amount
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. rash — a series

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