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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. content — the amount
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. file — a line of people
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. content — happy
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lie — to recline
  15. file — a tool
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. file — a document
  18. stock — goods
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stock — shares
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. content — videos and posts

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