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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pop — soda
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. pop — to visit
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. squash — to crush
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. plane — a tool
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bark — to shout
  14. content — the amount
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pop — music
  22. squash — the sport
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. pitch — completely

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