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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. chest — of your body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. content — the amount
  5. craft — boats
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. scale — in music
  10. deal — to handle
  11. content — happy
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. tear — from crying
  14. craft — a skill
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tear — to rip
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. scale — size or range
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. chest — a box

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