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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.

Make a worksheet

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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. 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. bark — to shout
  2. chest — a box
  3. content — the amount
  4. ground — a position
  5. chest — of your body
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. chest — of your body
  8. toast — bread
  9. ground — crushed
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. content — happy
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. 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