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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. content — happy
  5. bark — to shout
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rock — music
  11. rock — a stone
  12. current — of water
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. spell — magic
  15. scale — in music
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. current — electric
  20. content — the amount
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. current — happening now
  23. spell — letters
  24. scale — size or range

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