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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bark — to shout
  5. dip — to sink
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wind — moving air
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. press — to push
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. press — newspapers
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. press — a publisher
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. content — happy
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — farmland
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. branch — a division

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