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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. track — a song
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bark — to shout
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. track — a path
  9. content — happy
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. court — of law
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. court — for sport
  20. bulb — for light
  21. court — of a king
  22. cell — in biology
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bark — of a tree

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