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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. content — happy
  7. bark — to shout
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. capital — money
  10. spring — a coil
  11. firm — a company
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. spring — of water
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. firm — steady
  16. capital — a city
  17. rest — a break
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. firm — decided
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — the season
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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