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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 120 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bear — the animal
  4. content — happy
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. band — a ring
  7. capital — money
  8. bark — to shout
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bear — the animal
  15. track — a song
  16. bulb — for light
  17. capital — a city
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. track — a path
  22. content — the amount
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bulb — of a plant

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