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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bear — the animal
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — happy
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. file — a document
  10. bear — the animal
  11. file — a tool
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. file — a line of people
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. clip — to cut
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. track — to keep track
  19. stand — to bear
  20. track — a path
  21. clip — for paper
  22. bark — to shout
  23. clip — a video
  24. wax — to grow

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