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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. present — a gift
  4. field — a subject
  5. cap — of ice
  6. field — farmland
  7. land — to come down
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cap — a hat
  10. land — a country
  11. content — the amount
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. present — there
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. fork — in a road
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. land — ground
  20. present — the time now
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. field — for sport
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cap — a lid

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