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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. content — happy
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bark — to shout
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. club — for golf
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. saw — the tool
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ground — a position
  24. club — a group

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