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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pop — soda
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. net — after costs
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pop — music
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lean — to bend
  11. content — the amount
  12. object — an aim
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. object — to protest
  16. net — in sport
  17. content — happy
  18. tear — from crying
  19. object — a thing
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lean — thin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. net — for catching

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