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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. cap — of ice
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. court — of law
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cap — a hat
  10. content — happy
  11. court — for sport
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. capital — a city
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. dip — to sink
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. content — the amount
  19. capital — money
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. row — a line
  22. court — of a king
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. cap — a lid

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