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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. file — a document
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bark — to shout
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bear — the animal
  10. content — the amount
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pop — soda
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. file — a tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pop — music
  18. content — happy
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rush — hurry

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