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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: content · racket · bulb · sharp · band · ground · branch · spell

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. content — the amount
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. spell — letters
  8. spell — a short time
  9. ground — a position
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spell — magic
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. bulb — for light
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bulb — for light
  20. branch — a division
  21. ground — the earth
  22. content — happy
  23. band — a ring
  24. ground — crushed

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