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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. object — to protest
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. content — happy
  12. can — a tin
  13. bark — to shout
  14. cue — a hint
  15. cue — a signal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — of water
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. can — a tin
  20. object — a thing
  21. current — electric
  22. object — an aim
  23. cue — for pool
  24. content — the amount

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