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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: branch · mug · court · toast · content · bat · current · wake

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — bread
  3. current — of water
  4. court — of law
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mug — a face
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. mug — a cup
  10. current — electric
  11. mug — to rob
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — for sport
  14. content — happy
  15. court — of a king
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wake — a trail
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. content — the amount
  23. current — happening now
  24. content — videos and posts

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