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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. track — a song
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mine — for digging
  7. content — happy
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ground — a position
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. band — a ring
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bark — to shout
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. shower — to wash
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. content — the amount
  21. track — a path
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. shower — rain

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