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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. deal — to handle
  5. content — happy
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. spell — letters
  10. prune — to trim
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. net — in sport
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. spell — a short time
  15. net — after costs
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. spell — magic
  19. net — for catching
  20. current — electric
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. deal — an agreement

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