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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bark — to shout
  6. squash — the sport
  7. bank — for money
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. content — the amount
  10. clip — a video
  11. bank — of a river
  12. track — to keep track
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. track — a song
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. bank — for money
  18. track — a path
  19. rash — hasty
  20. squash — to crush
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. clip — for paper

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