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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. chip — to eat
  3. scale — in music
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. drill — a practice
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — the amount
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rash — a series
  13. scale — size or range
  14. rash — hasty
  15. drill — the tool
  16. content — happy
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. drill — army training

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