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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. content — the amount
  4. bass — low music
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bass — the fish
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. swing — to play on
  9. squash — the sport
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. squash — to crush
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. swing — in golf
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bark — to shout
  19. swing — music
  20. bulb — for light
  21. content — happy
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bulb — for light
  24. sharp — exactly

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