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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. staff — employees
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. game — a match
  7. staff — a stick
  8. game — wild animals
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. staff — employees
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — of water
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bark — to shout
  18. key — the most important part
  19. current — electric
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. content — the amount
  24. mouse — the animal

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