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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  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. pitch — a sales talk
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spell — letters
  5. current — electric
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. content — the amount
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitch — completely
  10. content — happy
  11. court — of law
  12. current — happening now
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cell — in biology
  15. spell — magic
  16. cell — a phone
  17. court — of a king
  18. current — of water
  19. bark — to shout
  20. spell — a short time
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. court — for sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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