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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: content · chest · branch · can · plane · spring · ruler · bark

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. plane — a tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. content — happy
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. can — to be able to
  7. spring — a coil
  8. can — a tin
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bark — to shout
  11. content — the amount
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. branch — a division
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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