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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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Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. content — happy
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — to protest
  10. content — the amount
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mug — to rob
  13. bark — to shout
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mug — a face
  17. object — an aim
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tear — from crying
  23. game — wild animals
  24. content — videos and posts

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