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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fine — all right
  3. content — the amount
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. fine — high quality
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cell — a phone
  9. spring — of water
  10. content — happy
  11. cell — in biology
  12. spring — the season
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bark — to shout
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. squash — the sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. date — the fruit

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