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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · content · bound · chest · cell · wound · hand · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cell — a phone
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bound — obliged
  9. chest — of your body
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. content — happy
  14. chest — a box
  15. content — the amount
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wound — an injury
  19. branch — a division
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bound — certain
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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