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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. content — the amount
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bark — to shout
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wind — moving air
  18. racket — for tennis

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