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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bank — for money
  4. content — happy
  5. court — for sport
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bark — to shout
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. court — of law
  12. bear — the animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. content — the amount
  16. court — of a king
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bank — for money
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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