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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: cell · squash · lie · content · branch · mate · net · game

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cell — in biology
  6. net — after costs
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mate — to breed
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cell — a phone
  12. game — wild animals
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — to recline
  15. net — for catching
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. net — in sport
  18. branch — a division
  19. squash — to crush
  20. content — the amount
  21. game — a match
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mate — a partner
  24. content — happy

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