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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. content — happy
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mark — a trace
  10. race — a contest
  11. fork — in a road
  12. race — humankind
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — to shout
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. race — the arms race
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. content — the amount

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