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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. band — a ring
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. dip — to sink
  7. file — a tool
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — the amount
  10. file — a document
  11. pop — to visit
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. content — happy
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pop — music
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. band — a music group
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pop — soda
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pass — a permit

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