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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rush — hurry
  8. content — the amount
  9. kick — in football
  10. stock — goods
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. can — a tin
  13. stock — shares
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bark — to shout
  21. drill — a practice
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. sharp — with an edge

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