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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: branch · can · wound · content · track · ball · stem · straw

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. track — a path
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — a song
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — a division
  12. content — happy
  13. can — a tin
  14. content — the amount
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. track — to keep track
  23. stem — to come from
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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