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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. game — wild animals
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. content — happy
  9. bark — to shout
  10. game — a match
  11. firm — a company
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. content — the amount
  17. firm — decided
  18. dip — to sink
  19. deal — to handle
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. pound — a weight
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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