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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. row — a line
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — rain
  9. toast — bread
  10. row — to paddle
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ball — a great time
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. content — the amount
  24. charge — electricity

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