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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · content · lie · branch · present · chest · ball · rash

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rash — hasty
  3. chest — a box
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. branch — a division
  7. content — happy
  8. ball — a dance
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. present — a gift
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. chest — of your body
  17. present — the time now
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rash — a series
  21. content — the amount
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. present — there
  24. straw — dry grass

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