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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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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: kick · firm · branch · content · present · game · bat · date

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. date — the fruit
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. firm — steady
  6. present — a gift
  7. firm — a company
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. kick — in football
  10. content — the amount
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. content — happy
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bat — the animal
  16. game — a match
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. present — there
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. firm — decided
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. game — wild animals
  24. present — the time now

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