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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. content — the amount
  3. game — a match
  4. bark — to shout
  5. suit — in cards
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. court — of a king
  8. game — wild animals
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. suit — clothes
  12. court — for sport
  13. rest — what's left
  14. content — happy
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rest — a break
  17. court — of law
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. suit — to fit
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rest — what's left
  24. game — a kind of play

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