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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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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 · swing · saw · cap · branch · face · kid · lie

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. kid — to tease
  3. swing — music
  4. content — the amount
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kid — child
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cap — a lid
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. face — to confront
  14. saw — the tool
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. swing — in golf
  17. face — part of the head
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cap — of ice
  22. content — happy
  23. saw — the tool
  24. cap — a hat

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