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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. march — the month
  3. branch — a division
  4. net — for catching
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — final
  7. net — in sport
  8. march — the month
  9. bear — the animal
  10. march — music
  11. bear — the animal
  12. net — after costs
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. last — finally
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. capital — a city
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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