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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — clothes
  4. bark — to shout
  5. swing — in golf
  6. ground — a position
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bore — to tire
  9. content — happy
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. field — for sport
  13. swing — music
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. field — a subject
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. suit — to fit
  19. bore — to drill
  20. ground — the earth
  21. field — farmland
  22. sharp — clever
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bark — of a tree

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