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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: kid · bank · saw · branch · file · content · swing · spell

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. kid — child
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bank — for money
  6. file — a document
  7. spell — magic
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. branch — a division
  11. file — a line of people
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bank — for money
  14. spell — letters
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. bank — of a river
  17. saw — the tool
  18. swing — music
  19. content — the amount
  20. swing — to play on
  21. saw — the tool
  22. kid — to tease
  23. swing — in golf
  24. spell — a short time

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