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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bass — the fish
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bark — to shout
  7. clip — for paper
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. clip — a video
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. stock — shares
  16. content — happy
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. stock — goods
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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