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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 116 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. last — final
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. suit — to fit
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. court — of law
  9. last — finally
  10. suit — clothes
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. content — the amount
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. last — to go on
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. content — happy
  21. court — of a king
  22. pitch — completely
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. court — for sport

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