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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fine — all right
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wind — moving air
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. content — happy
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. fine — high quality
  17. pit — a hole
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — to shout
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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