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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. spring — the season
  5. mark — a trace
  6. club — a group
  7. spring — a coil
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. content — happy
  15. mark — a grade
  16. spring — of water
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bark — to shout
  19. kick — in football
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. club — for golf
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. club — for dancing
  24. pitcher — a jug

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