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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. track — a path
  5. content — the amount
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. track — to keep track
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bark — to shout
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. game — a match
  22. track — a song
  23. game — wild animals
  24. content — happy

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