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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: deal · court · pop · branch · bat · bound · patient · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. pop — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — to visit
  6. court — of a king
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bat — the animal
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. court — for sport
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. deal — to handle
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bound — obliged
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. content — happy
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bound — certain
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — of law
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. branch — a division

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