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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. charge — electricity
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. court — of a king
  8. wind — moving air
  9. court — for sport
  10. charge — in control
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. face — part of the head
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. charge — a price
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — to confront
  24. content — the amount

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