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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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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: swing · content · rest · bulb · hand · branch · sharp · chair

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. content — the amount
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bulb — for light
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. hand — help
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. sharp — clever
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. swing — in golf
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bulb — for light
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rest — a break
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. rest — what's left
  21. content — happy
  22. branch — a division
  23. swing — music
  24. bulb — of a plant

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