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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. scale — for weighing
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. scale — in music
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. ground — the earth
  9. content — happy
  10. ground — a position
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. scale — size or range
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bark — to shout
  19. row — a line
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. row — to paddle
  24. content — the amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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