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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 120 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: sharp · hand · mouse · bark · chest · branch · last · content

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chest — a box
  3. bark — to shout
  4. last — to go on
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. last — finally
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. last — final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. hand — help
  23. chest — of your body
  24. content — videos and posts

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