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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mug — to rob
  3. kid — child
  4. swing — to play on
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. spell — magic
  8. content — happy
  9. face — to point toward
  10. spell — a short time
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. swing — in golf
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. kid — to tease
  15. face — to confront
  16. bark — to shout
  17. swing — music
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. spell — letters
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. content — the amount
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. mug — a cup

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