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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — in a race
  6. content — the amount
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pit — a hole
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. rash — a series
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. ground — the earth
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — to shout
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. content — happy

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