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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. court — for sport
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — the amount
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. court — of a king
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. content — happy
  12. net — for catching
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. court — of law
  21. net — after costs
  22. bark — to shout
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. net — in sport

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