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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 124 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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. band — a ring
  10. content — the amount
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. band — a music group
  14. bark — to shout
  15. content — happy
  16. capital — money
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. roll — a cake
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. racket — for tennis

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