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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pop — soda
  3. firm — a company
  4. hand — in cards
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pop — to visit
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pop — music
  12. face — part of the head
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. face — to confront
  15. craft — boats
  16. bore — to tire
  17. hand — help
  18. firm — steady
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. firm — decided
  21. content — the amount
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bore — to drill

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