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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hand — in cards
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bark — to shout
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. hand — help
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wax — to grow
  16. content — the amount
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bowl — a dish

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