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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. content — the amount
  10. spell — magic
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. spell — letters
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. track — a path
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. spell — a short time
  20. track — a song
  21. content — happy
  22. track — to keep track
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bark — to shout

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