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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. current — happening now
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. content — happy
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. mark — a trace
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bark — to shout
  17. content — the amount
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. plane — a tool
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. content — videos and posts

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