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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. content — happy
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. content — the amount
  5. bark — to shout
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stock — goods
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pop — to visit
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pop — music
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. stock — shares
  20. snap — to click
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pop — soda
  24. content — videos and posts

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