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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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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spell — letters
  5. ground — a position
  6. spell — magic
  7. content — happy
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mark — a grade
  11. spell — a short time
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bark — to shout
  15. content — the amount
  16. mark — a trace
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mark — to pay attention

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