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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. content — happy
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. squash — to crush
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mark — a trace
  11. wake — a trail
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. content — the amount
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. rash — a series
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mark — a grade
  20. saw — the tool
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. saw — the tool
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bark — of a tree

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