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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chip — for betting
  8. content — the amount
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. tear — to rip
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. chip — in a computer

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